The Washington Football Team is facing new allegations of sexism and sexual harassment, a month after the original round of accusations of sexual misconduct were reported.
What We Know:
- Last month, 15 women came forward to say they were sexually harassed between 2006 and 2019 while they worked for the Washington, D.C. NFL franchise. 14 of the original women decided to remain anonymous, but allegations ranged from unwelcome sexual advances or comments to requests to wear revealing clothing to orders to flirt with clients to close deals. Top men throughout the organization were accused of sexual misconduct but team owner Dan Snyder and president Bruce Allen were not. Both men were accused of fostering a toxic and abusive work environment. However, a new round of reports against the organization puts Snyder in the middle of the allegations.
- In the newest report, the Washington Football Team faces allegations that a video was created of “outtakes” from a cheerleader photoshoot in which their body parts were accidentally exposed. A former employee provided said videos from 2008 and 2010 to the Washington Post. Another producer confirmed the 2010 video to the newspaper, saying an executive instructed employees to create a behind-the-scenes DVD video for Snyder featuring clips of “the good stuff” from the photoshoots. These outtakes featured the cheerleaders adjusting their bathing suits and revealing their breasts and genitals accidentally as they changed positions and moved props for the shoot.
“It was extremely unprofessional and perverted, the kind of culture that would only exist in a world where there were barely any women in powerful positions, no human resources and no accountability,” the producer, who requested to stay anonymous, said.
- One of the team’s former cheerleaders, Tiffany Bacon Scourby, was involved in both photoshoots. Upon seeing the video, she told the Post that she was “horrified” and “nauseous”. Scourby then shared about her experience with the organization, alleging that she was propositioned by Snyder in 2004. He had approached her at a charity event and suggested that she join his friend in a hotel room so they “could get to know each other better”. Three people confirmed Scourby’s story.
- Following the report, Snyder released a statement denying Scourby’s allegation, saying, “This never happened.” He also criticized the newspaper for what he described as a “hit job” for reporting the old allegations. “Ms. Scourby did not report this alleged incident to anyone on the team in 2004, in her 8 years as a cheerleader, or at any time in the past 16 years,” Snyder’s statement said. Snyder also denied any knowledge of the 2008 and 2010 videos, saying the videos appeared to be “unauthorized or fraudulent” and that he had been “too hands-off” as an owner.
Statement from Dan Snyder in response to the allegations in today’s Washington Post: pic.twitter.com/vuvfUAO4q0
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 26, 2020
- Other employees came forward to speak about Snyder and the way he ran the sports organization. Many claimed that Snyder oversaw a sexist workplace where women were often treated like “servants”. Among the allegations was that an email was sent to staffers in 2017 that requested all female staff members not be “present in any football areas while the players are here” as part of a new conduct policy because they would serve as a distraction to the players.
- Several women said that the workplace with the Washington Football Team had a culture in which women were objectified and that there was even an informal online “support group” for former team employees. Brittany Pareti, who worked for the team from 2007 to 2012, said of the culture: “It was like fresh meat to a pack of wolves every time a new pack of interns would come in. It was like a frat house, with men lined up in the lobby watching women walk in and out. You constantly felt there were eyes on you.”
- This behavior wasn’t something limited to only employees however, it also transpired with interns who faced unwanted sexual advances. Shannon Slate was 22-years-old when she interned in 2016 with the team. She said she was relentlessly pursued by former director of pro scouting Alex Santos, who was fired in July over his involvement in the first set of sexual harassment allegations. Slate only had one human resources staff to turn too and he reported to chief financial officer Stephen Choi. Slate shared she went to Choi to file a complaint against Santos, but he told her that wasn’t an option. “He basically said: ‘This is a sports organization; men dominate it,’” Slate shared. “‘You have two options: Keep your distance from Alex, or you can end the internship early.’” Slate said she left the internship early.
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement that an independent investigation into the team’s culture was in progress. “We strongly condemn the unprofessional, disturbing and abhorrent behavior and workplace environment alleged in the report which is entirely inconsistent with our standards and has no place in the NFL,” Goodell said.
Snyder said he takes full responsibility for the culture at the organization. “Going forward I am going to be more involved, and we have already made major changes in personnel bringing in new leadership to drive the cultural transformation on and off the field,” Snyder said. Despite this, minority partners of the NFL’s Washington Football Team have been pressuring Snyder to sell his majority stake in the franchise.
