The Washington Football team was slapped with a staggering $10 million fine after the NFL completed their investigation of the team’s workplace culture.
In addition to the fine, WFT Owner Daniel Snyder was taken off of day-to-day operations and his wife, Tanya Snyder, will now oversee day-today operations for the next several months.
Dan Snyder will direct his focus to focus to “a new stadium plan and other matters,” the league said in a statement.
“All senior executives, including the Snyders, will take part in training in workplace conduct, covering topics such as bullying, diversity and inclusion, LGBTQ+ issues, microaggression and unconscious bias,” ESPN reported.
The investigation was begun after dozens of former team employees charged the organization with varying degrees of sexual misconduct, intimidation, and harassment.
In one example, former marketing coordinator Emily Applegate alleges she was told to wear revealing clothes “so the men in the room have something to look at.”
Dan Snyder released a statement expressing his “great remorse” for those who had “traumatic” experiences while working for the Football Team.
“I have learned a lot in the past few months about how my club operated, and the kind of workplace that we had,” Snyder’s statement read. “It is now clear that the culture was not what it should be, but I did not realize the extent of the problems, or my role in allowing that culture to develop and continue. I know that as the owner, I am ultimately responsible for the workplace. I have said that and I say it again,” Dan Snyder said in a statement.
“I feel great remorse for the people who had difficult, even traumatic, experiences while working here. I’m truly sorry for that. I can’t turn back the clock, but I promise that nobody who works here will ever have that kind of experience again, at least not as long as Tanya and I are the owners of this team.”
The NFL’s punishment was blasted by attorneys representing former WFT employees.
“This is truly outrageous, and is a slap in the face to the hundreds of women and former employees who came forward in good faith and at great personal risk to report a culture of abuse at all levels of the Team, including by Snyder himself,” Debra Katz and Lisa Banks said in a statement. “The NFL has effectively told survivors in this country and around the world that it does not care about them or credit their experiences. Female fans, and fans of goodwill everywhere, take note.”
While the NFL’s investigation, headed-up by Beth Wilkinson, charged the WFT with creating a “culture of fear.” The report also cited recent hires such as head coach Ron Rivera and team President Jason Wright, as signs that the organization was headed in the right direction.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement, “Over the past 18 months, Dan and Tanya have recognized the need for change and have undertaken important steps to make the workplace comfortable and dignified for all employees, and those changes, if sustained and built upon, should allow the club to achieve its goal of having a truly first-tier workplace.”