Washington Football Team: Rumors spreading about NFL investigation into Snyder

The season provided a respite from the Washington Football Team’s tumultuous 2020 offseason, but some things left off on a note unsettled.

While the Washington Football Team’s 2020 offseason set the stage for Ron Rivera’s successful debut season in D.C., there was a point when things looked grim — a trademark hue for the organization under owner Dan Snyder.

Rivera’s first months were marred by quarterback controversy, a name change, and the misgivings of the previous regime — which involved sexual harassment allegations levied against some of the organizations top officials.

Snyder was, in some cases, implicated as an enabler of that harassment, and a catalyst for what was often viewed as a toxic work environment. An independent investigation was set to be conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson, but no further details were given beyond that assignment. And when the regular season rolled around, all the talk turned back to football.

Now, however, we may be due for some more news on the front office, and the implications of this investigation. This morning, local reporter J.P. Finlay stated that the 106.7 The Fan radio station had reportedly “obtained information from the 130-plus page NFL investigation into the Washington Football Team”. Finlay elaborated that the top recommendation in that investigation was, allegedly, to “force the owner to divest his ownership of the team”.

It’s worth noting that, not long after Finlay came forward with the report, another media member — Senior NFL reporter Jonathan Jones — claimed that he spoke to an NFL spokesperson, who told him that “the reported 130-page investigative document on the Washington Football Team is ‘absolutely false’ and that the league has ‘received no such report'”.

For now, it seems brash to run with the news brought forth by Finlay, especially if the NFL essentially came out and refuted it. But, it does also bear noting that something may eventually come of the investigation into the Washington Football Team. It’s just a matter of what. Owners don’t often favor meddling in ownership across the league, but if the report finds something bad enough, it could force Snyder to sell.

There are increased whispers this morning because of Finlay’s report, but the credibility falls under question. For now, nothing has changed. But this report does remind us that the Snyder situation also demands some peripheral attention, in addition to the happenings regarding the Washington Football Team in free agency.