Thoughts on the Washington Redskins harassment scandal

Revelations all too familiar

Unfortunately, the report on the Redskins culture was not surprising. That’s what made the blow perhaps even more severe. It was the confirmation of what many may have already suspected from a franchise owned by Dan Snyder.

There had been hints of the culture’s toxicity over the years — Dan Snyder meddling with football personnel such as Mike Nolan, forcing subordinates to refer to him as “Mr. Snyder”. A suspect 2013 trip to Costa Rica in which cheerleaders alleged forceful nude posing with sponsors. The constant friction between the front office and other decision makers, including Scot McCloughan. Bruce Allen refusing to pay or trade certain players out of spite.

The list goes on, and this summation doesn’t begin to cover it all.

At a moment like this, one can’t help but go back to Bruce Allen’s press conference in the early months of 2019, when he was asked about the team’s culture, blinked as if offended, gave a slight smirk, and replied, “actually, the culture is damn good”.

We already knew he was wrong. Now, we know just how arrogant he had to be to say that.