Both Virginia and DC’s Attorney Generals Launch Investigations into Washington Commanders

Austin Hamblen

2 years ago

The Attorneys General of D.C. and Virginia confirmed Monday that their offices would conduct separate investigations into the NFL’s Washington Commanders and owner Dan Snyder in response to a House investigation into the team’s financial actions.

The ongoing sage of lawsuits the team is facing has included claims of sexual harassment from former cheerleaders, and more recently “financial improprieties,” according to Jason Friedman, a former vice president of sales and customer service. The Washington Post reports that the House Committee determined that the Washington Commanders and its owner “may have engaged in a troubling, long-running, and potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct” that allegedly involved withholding as much as $5 million in refundable deposits from season ticket holders and also hiding money that was supposed to be shared among NFL owners.

Friedman noted in the report that:

“the team maintained ‘two sets of books’—one that was shared with the NFL but underreported certain ticket revenue, and another internal set of books that included the complete and accurate revenue and was ‘shown to Mr. Snyder.’”

The Washington Commanders have routinely denied any of these allegations. Following the announcement of Congress’s findings, they also released a statement, saying they would continue to cooperate as well as claiming the organization’s innocence:

“The team categorically denies any suggestion of financial impropriety of any kind at any time. We adhere to strict internal processes that are consistent with industry and accounting standards, are audited annually by a globally respected independent auditing firm, and are also subject to regular audits by the NFL. We continue to cooperate fully with the Committee’s work,” the team said in a statement Monday.

On Monday, Miyares and his team announced that they would be joining the DC’s investigation, and released a statement saying that the office was not prejudging the issues raised in the investigation of the Commanders: “I view it as my responsibility to carefully examine the material facts regarding this matter after it was brought to my attention.”

Simlarly, DC’s Attourny General Karl Racine said his team has been conducting a separate investigation into the team’s financial matters.”The disturbing details of misconduct by the Washington Commanders and Dan Snyder that we’ve seen in extensive public reporting are deeply troubling,” Racine said. “No one should face mistreatment at work and no organization can evade the law.”

“The Commanders’ players and employees, and District residents, deserve a thorough investigation that determines exactly what happened and holds those accountable for any illegal conduct,” Racine said.