Congress presses Roger Goodell for transparency in WFT workplace culture scandals

Doug Farrar
·4 min read

On Monday, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell requesting documents and information regarding the of this matter.

Recent leaks from an investigation involving some 650,000 internal e-mails led to the resignation of Raiders head coach Jon Gruden after Gruden’s racist, misogynistic, and homophobic comWashington Football Team’s hostile workplace culture and NFL’s handling munications with former Washington team president Bruce Allen were made public. In addition, e-mails over several years between Allen and Jeff Pash, the NFL’s vice president and general counsel since 1997, brought about serious ethical questions that the NFL sought to quash.

One of those ethical concerns surrounds Pash’s decision to have the NFL take over a supposedly independent investigation into the workplace culture of the Washington franchise after it was revealed that the then-Redskins organization was rampant with bullying, intimidation, and sexual harassment. After a nearly year-long investigation, team owner Daniel Snyder was fined $10 million, and no findings were officially released.

You can read the entire letter here.

Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represented 40 former employees in a statement, said that the NFL chose to “protect owner Dan Snyder” and said the fine amounted to “pocket change.” In the end, Wilkinson submitted her report orally to the league.

Now, Congress has stepped in to try and get more transparency from what has become an obvious attempt by the NFL to act as if these issues never existed.

“The NFL has one of the most prominent platforms in America, and its decisions can have national implications,” the Chairs wrote. “The NFL’s lack of transparency about the problems it recently uncovered raise questions about the seriousness with which it has addressed bigotry, racism, sexism, and homophobia—setting troubling precedent for other workplaces. The Committee is seeking to fully understand this workplace conduct and the league’s response, which will help inform legislative efforts to address toxic work environments and workplace investigation processes; strengthen protections for women in the workplace; and address the use of non-disclosure agreements to prevent the disclosure of unlawful employment practices, including sexual harassment. We hope and trust that the NFL shares the Committee’s goal of protecting American workers from harassment and discrimination.”

The letter asked for the following documents to be produced by November 4, 2021:

  1. All documents and communications obtained in connection with the investigation into the WFT, its management, its owners, and any other matter relating to or resulting from the WFT investigation;

  2. All reports or findings made in connection with investigations into the WFT, including but not limited to semi-annual reports from the WFT, and all documents and notes referring or relating to any oral reports and findings; and

  3. All NFL policies and procedures referring or relating to the use of confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements by the NFL and its teams.

The Committee also asked for the following questions to be answered by the same date:

  1. What reasons did the WFT provide for requesting that the NFL assume “full oversight” over Ms. Wilkinson’s investigation, and why did the NFL agree to assume this role?

  2. Please describe in detail the NFL’s role in overseeing Ms. Wilkinson’s investigation, and what changes, if any, were implemented as a result of the NFL’s role.

  3. Please describe in detail Mr. Pash’s role in the investigations described in this letter, if any.

  4. Please provide a list of all NFL employees who were involved in overseeing Ms. Wilkinson’s investigation,

  5. How often did the NFL communicate with Ms. Wilkinson or members of her team during the investigation, and how did these communications occur (e.g., by phone, email, or in person)?

  6. Who directed Ms. Wilkinson to provide the NFL oral reports and investigative findings, rather than written reports and investigative findings, and why? Please provide a list of all meetings or briefings at which Ms. Wilkinson or any member of her team provided final or preliminary findings, interim reports, or read-outs to the NFL, the dates that they occurred, and all participants.

  7. Please confirm the number of confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements reported to the NFL, or entered into by the NFL, from January 1, 2016, through the present, including the names of the teams involved, dates of the agreements, and whether the agreements resulted from allegations of discrimination and retaliation.

  8. What actions has the NFL taken, if any, regarding the use of confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements in matters related to workplace abuses since January 1, 2016?

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in an e-mail to ESPN’s John Keim that “We have received the Chairwoman’s letter and share her concern that all workplaces should be free from any form of harassment and discrimination. We look forward to speaking to her office soon.”