Dan Snyder issues statement about Washington Post article

Dan Snyder has issued a statement in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against members of the Washington Redskins front office.

On Thursday evening, The Washington Post published a story that rocked the NFL world. The story detailed sexual harassment allegations by 15 women against high-ranking members of the Washington Redskins’ front office.

The story was rumored to be a bombshell all week and led to the sudden, unexpected departures of Alex Santos, Richard Mann II, and Larry Michael, the former two by firings and the latter by retirement. And the fallout from the situation is just getting started.

Washington hired a D.C. attorney, Beth Wilkinson, to conduct a thorough review of their organizational culture. The NFL issued a statement saying they would “take action based on any findings” by the investigation. So once the investigation is complete, the punishment Washington may face will become clear.

One thing that was lacking in the aftermath of the article dropping was a response from Washington’s owner Dan Snyder. But that changed on Friday morning. Snyder offered an official statement on the matter and committed to “setting a new culture” for the team as well as supporting Wilkinson’s “unbiased investigation”.

It’s nice that Snyder is committing to a culture change now, but the alleged abuses have been going on for 15 years. So, it’s more than a little late on Snyder’s part; he should’ve done more to change the clearly toxic culture outlined in The Post’s story long ago.

At least the team is making an effort. The alleged perpetrators of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct have been let go by the organization. Ron Rivera has been brought aboard to help institute a new culture, and he’s the right man to do it. And hopefully, Wilkinson’s review will help create a better, safer environment in Washington.

But still, the culture should never have been allowed to get this bad.

We’ll soon see what comes of Washington’s sexual harassment scandal. Either way, Snyder will likely face consequences for his negligence, but until the investigation concludes, we won’t know what those might be.