An ongoing embarrassment both on and off the field that even oft-mocked Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has had his fill of, Daniel Snyder and the Washington Commanders have now become a major legal problem for the rest of the NFL and league commissioner Roger Goodell following the Thursday filing of a lawsuit by the D.C. attorney general.
During a lengthy press conference that had the feel of an exasperated school principal listing off a multitude of reasons why a harsh punishment for a particularly troublesome and misguided student is required, Attorney General Karl Racine announced his office is filing a civil consumer protection lawsuit against the Commanders, Snyder, the NFL and commissioner Goodell for colluding to deceive District residents and misleading customers about an investigation into the team’s workplace in pursuit of revenue.
“Faced with public outrage over detailed and widespread allegations of sexual misconduct and a persistently hostile work environment at the Team, Defendants made a series of public statements to convince District consumers that this dysfunctional and misogynistic conduct was limited and that they were fully cooperating with an independent investigation,” the lawsuit reads. “These statements were false and calculated to mislead consumers so they would continue to support the Team financially without thinking that they were supporting such misconduct.”
Former team employee Megan Imbert was at the news conference and said it was a moment she has been waiting for.
Racine said his office is searching for “public accountability for wrongdoing” and that he is “quite confident” that the case would continue to move forward after his term in office is up on January 2. He also said that Snyder will remain a defendant in the case even if his desire to sell the Commanders, which was announced last week, is fulfilled.
“This lawsuit will continue, and there will be accountability unless and until it’s settled. And if it’s settled, we’re going to tell you everything that we found,” Racine said. “For years, the team and its owner have caused very real and very serious harm and then lied about it to dodge accountability. They did all of this to hide the truth, protect their images and let the profits continue to roll.”
Since Racine’s office does not have criminal enforcement authority in the matter, the lawsuit was filed in the civil division of the D.C. Superior Court. Racine’s office said it is seeking “financial penalties under the CPPA for every incident in which the Commanders, Mr. Snyder, the NFL, and Commissioner Goodell lied to District residents dating back to July 2020” and that the defendants “could face millions of dollars in penalties,” per The Washington Post.
It’s an ugly end to what has been a disastrous run for Snyder in D.C. But it’ll still be a profitable one, as Snyder is likely to get $7 billion for the historic franchise — possibly from Matthew McConaughey.
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