Six former Washington employees levy explosive new allegations against Dan Snyder

A stretch of days that should be spent celebrating the Washington Commanders‘ rebrand will unfortunately be spent discussing the latest allegations that were made against universally-panned co-owner Dan Snyder.

Of course, these explosive allegations don’t come a surprise.

Less than a week before the Feb. 2 rebrand, the House Oversight Committee announced it would hold a roundtable on Feb. 3 to try and get to the bottom of the toxic workplace culture that’s unfolded under Snyder’s watch.

At the roundtable, six former Washington employees came forward with allegations against Snyder, including one that claimed the owner instructed Brad Baker, the team’s video production manager at the time, to create videos that featured nude images of cheerleaders.

New allegations of sexual harassment and abuse have been levied against Commanders owner Dan Snyder.

"“While passing through the editing suite, I saw several images on both the editing monitor and the monitor of our tape deck that featured the cheerleaders posing for their photoshoot,” Baker said. “But it was like outtakes, and their breasts and pubic areas were exposed.”“It became crystal clear that my worst suspicions were true. The video department had been told to edit together lewd footage of the cheerleaders at the request of Dan Snyder.”“Little did we know, they were zooming in on private parts and keeping cameras rolling during costume changes. I’ve cried with the women in these videos, as they explained the horror of seeing themselves in what is essentially a soft porn video soundtrack to Dan Snyder’s favorite bands.”"

Per Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports, the list of employees included Baker, Melanie Coburn, a former cheerleader and director of marketing, Tiffani A. Johnston, a former cheerleader and marketing manager, Ana Nunez, former coordinator of business development, Rachel Engleson, a former director of marketing relations, and Emily Applegate, the team’s former marketing coordinator.

Johnston, who worked for the team for eight years until 2008, recalled a disturbing networking event with Snyder. During the dinner, Snyder allegedly had his hand on Johnston’s thigh under the table. Later on, he guided Johnston, who was 24 at the time, to his limo and asked her to ride with him.

"“I learned that the only reason Dan Snyder removed his hand from my back and stopped pushing me towards his limo is because his attorney intervened and said, ‘Dan, Dan, this is a bad idea,'” Johnston recalled.“The next day, I learned when I told a senior co-worker about Dan Snyder’s sexual advance that I should ‘not repeat the story to anyone outside this office door.’ That was when I also learned there was no one to go to about Dan Snyder’s advance, no path to report the incident.”"

Johnston alleged she was “strategically” seated by Snyder, implying that the co-owner’s actions were premeditated.

According to Coburn, Snyder had the final say over who made the cheerleading team. His determining factor? Looks, not skill. Per Coburn, Snyder fired women despite their skill “because they weren’t the prettiest, in his opinion.”

During an “awards trip” to Snyder’s home in Colorado, Coburn recalled a co-worker being “hazed to drink despite being a recovering addict.” At one point, Coburn was ordered to go to the basement and stay there, only to learn from a former colleague that the men had invited prostitutes to the house.

“The culture and environment in those offices was deplorable, like a frat party run by a billionaire who knew no boundaries,” Coburn added.

Applegate alleged she was harassed on a regular basis by Washington’s former chief marketing officer. Applegate long had concerns about workplace misconduct, but was “told not to speak to Dan Snyder or to even look at Dan Snyder.”

Engleson and Nunez echoed Applegate’s sentiment.

Engleson, who was employed by the organization for eight years, claimed there wasn’t a single day in which he didn’t experience sexual harassment. When it was Nunez’s turn, she told the committee “no one did anything about it” when she became a victim of sexual harassment or abuse.

“One executive had a reputation for making inappropriate comments about female colleagues, attire, and their bodies just as he did with me, but he was so high up in the organization that we were afraid to say anything,” Nunez said. “He did this in front of everyone and no one seemed to care.”

The NFL’s independent investigation into Washington’s workplace culture, headed by D.C.-based lawyer Beth Wilkerson, spanned 10 months and found that “the culture at the club was very toxic and it fell far short of the NFL’s values and we hold ownership to a higher standard,” per Lisa Friel, the league’s special counsel for investigations.

The franchise’s punishment? A $10 million fine and instruction to partake in training of workplace misconduct specializing in areas including implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, bullying and micro-aggression.

Snyder, meanwhile, took a brief leave of absence while his wife, Tanya, was appointed as co-CEO and took over day-to-day operations.

Time will tell if anything worthy of the term “punishment” transpires from this latest round of allegations against Snyder.