NFL Fines Washington $10M for Workplace Abuse

More than 100 female employees told of discrimination and harassment
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 1, 2021 6:15 PM CDT
NFL Fines Washington $10M for Workplace Abuse
Dan Snyder, left, and his wife, Tanya, listen to new Washington head coach Ron Rivera during a news conference in January 2020.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

After investigating allegations that Washington's football team maintained an abusive workplace, the NFL fined the team $10 million on Thursday. The league said the money will go to organizations "committed to character education, anti-bullying, healthy relationships and related topics," CBS Sports reports. Washington also has to pay for the investigation. The league launched the case after the Washington Post published accounts last year from more than 100 current and former employees who told of front office sexual harassment as far back as 2004. Team owner Dan Snyder, the Post found, "has presided over an organization in which women say they have been marginalized, discriminated against and exploited." Snyder issued a statement this week saying he agrees with the league's decision and feels "great remorse" for what the employees endured.

Although he can still attend games and work on projects such as settling on a new team name, Snyder will take himself off the day-to-day management of the club. His wife, Tanya, who is now co-chief executive, will run the franchise, per the New York Times. "I'm mortified to think that’s happening in our building and our business,” Tanya Snyder said Wednesday. The two agreed to make 10 specific changes growing out of the investigation, and the Snyders and other senior executives will undergo training in workplace conduct, per ESPN. Commissioner Roger Goodell said employees, especially women, dealt with an unprofessional workplace for years. "Bullying and intimidation frequently took place and many described the culture as one of fear," he said, "and numerous female employees reported having experienced sexual harassment and a general lack of respect in the workplace." (More Washington Football Team stories.)

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