It is alleged by the three minority owners that Snyder violated their shareholders agreement in various waysgetty images
The NFL has brought in former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to "help investigate allegations of misconduct among the owners of the Washington Football Team," according to sources cited by Andrew Beaton of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The NFL is "in the midst of an arbitration involving a feud" between majority Owner Dan Snyder and the team's minority owners, including FedEx CEO Frederick Smith, NVR Chair Dwight Schar and Black Diamond Capital Chair & CEO Robert Rothman. The minority owners "have been attempting to sell their stakes, worth approximately 40% of the club, but their issues with Snyder have instead produced a firefight between the parties." Sources said that Lynch's investigation "centers on alleged attempts by Schar, a real-estate developer, to publicly disseminate information that would hurt or defame Snyder." The minority owners "had previously asked the NFL to arbitrate the proceedings after having decided to sell their stakes in the team." They "alleged Snyder had violated their shareholder agreement in various ways" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/23).
PIVOTAL MOMENT: The Washington Football Team paid $1.6M to a former female employee as part of a confidential settlement in '09 after the woman accused Snyder of sexual misconduct, and in DC, Barry Svrluga writes Snyder now is "being revealed not just as the head creep who oversaw and allowed a corporate culture that degraded and devalued women, but an active participant who paid off an accuser to make his problems go away." Svrluga: "We know a sitting NFL owner paid a seven-figure settlement to a female employee." That is "stunning -- and relevant not just as it reflects on Snyder, but potentially for the future of the franchise." Former Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson "sold his team under pressure after it was revealed that he and the team reached settlements with women who accused him of sexual misconduct and with a team scout whom he referenced with a racial slur." The additions of coach Ron Rivera, team President Jason Wright and Senior VP/Media Julie Donaldson have "generated more positive publicity and good vibes around the franchise than Snyder has been able to foster in more than two decades as the owner." But with Washington, "no rush of warmth is sustainable, and each is ushered out in cataclysmic fashion." For there to be "public confidence in the idea that the franchise is in fact headed in a new, more positive direction -- in on-field performance, in public messaging, in fan experience, in overall reputation -- then there must be similar public confidence in the NFL's investigation into the environment created under Snyder" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/23).
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? USA TODAY's Mike Jones writes for five months now, allegations "have continued to surface, revealing sexual misconduct toward women employed by Snyder's franchise during his two decades as owner." Each round of incidents "seemingly paints Snyder's organization in even more unflattering lights." Each "unveils problems more widespread and damning than those before it." Eventually, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners of the other 31 teams "have to ask themselves when enough is enough." Snyder "can declare his intention to change the culture and make inclusivity and respect for women core tenets of the organization." But Snyder himself "remains the root of the problem." It "seems unrealistic to expect that true change can come on his watch" (USA TODAY, 12/23).
