House report: Snyder had role in 'toxic' Commanders culture

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Commanders created a “toxic work culture” for more than two decades, “ignoring and downplaying sexual misconduct” by men at the top levels of the organization, according to a report published Thursday by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Commanders owner Dan Snyder was involved in the misconduct, according to the report, which said he inappropriately touched a former employee at a dinner, had staffers produce a video “of sexually suggestive footage of cheerleaders,” and ordered that women who were auditioning to be cheerleaders walk on the field “while he and his friends gawked from his suite through binoculars.”

Snyder also interfered in what is known as the Wilkinson investigation, which the NFL eventually took over, that stemmed from former employees alleging in 2020 rampant sexual harassment by team executives, the report said. He also had a separate shadow investigation going, which the report said was used by his lawyers to “cast him as the victim of a defamation campaign ... and deflect responsibility for the team's toxic work culture.”

The team owner also interfered with the House committee's investigation by “intimidating witnesses," “refusing to release former employees form their confidentiality obligations" and blocking “the Committee's access to tens of thousands of documents collected during the Wilkinson Investigation.” When Snyder did testify in a deposition to the committee, the report said, he was evasive and misleading and said more than 100 times that he did not recall things.

The NFL is not shielded from criticism in the report, which says the league “misled the public about its handling of the Wilkinson Investigation," "continues to minimize workplace misconduct across the league," “has not...