Roger Goodell, Dan Snyder invited to testify at Commanders workplace culture hearing

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has been pushing his luck with NFL owners for the last several months.

Trying to launch his own independent inquiry into the sexual harassment allegations levied against him by former Washington employee Tiffani Johnston was one thing; the NFL has since seized the investigation at the request of Roger Goodell.

But trying to cheat other teams out of millions in ticket revenue by preventing season-ticket holders from obtaining their security deposits? And allegedly using two separate accounting books to run the scheme? That was always going to land the polarizing owner in hot water with Goodell and other owners.

Those accusations prompted owners to begin “counting votes” on potentially removing Snyder from office, per USA Today’s Jarrett Bell. Nothing has come from that (yet), but the last Snyder news actually relates back to the investigation into the Commanders toxic workplace culture … and it’s a doozy.

Per reports, the House Oversight Committee has invited Goodell and Snyder to testify before the committee at the June 22 workplace culture hearing.

House Oversight Committee requests Commanders owner Dan Snyder and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to testify.

Here’s what the Committee said in a press release.

"The hearing is the next step in the Committee’s months-long investigation into the Commanders’ hostile workplace culture and will also examine the NFL’s handling of allegations of workplace misconduct, the NFL’s role in setting and enforcing standards across the League, and legislative reforms needed to address these issues across the NFL and other workplaces."

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee, followed that up with an explosive statement on the Beth Wilkinson investigation, accusing the Commanders and the NFL of “obstructing” the probe at every turn.

"“. . . The Committee has worked tirelessly to obtain critical information, including the findings of the internal investigation conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson, only to be met with obstruction from the Commanders and the NFL at every turn. We must have transparency and accountability, which is why we are calling on Mr. Goodell and Mr. Snyder to answer the questions they have dodged for the last seven months. The hearing will explore how Congress can act to prevent employers from silencing victims of workplace misconduct and ensure that what happened at the Commanders organization does not happen again.”"

This is an absolutely monster development amid NFL owners’ reported push to remove Snyder from office. If you remember, the league specifically asked Wilkinson not to release a written report once the investigation concluded and it was later discovered Wilkinson would have recommended that Snyder be forced to sell the team if the Commanders and NFL didn’t intervene.

When the dust settled, the NFL fined Washington $10 million as a result of the investigation. The money was donated to charity and Snyder was instructed to relinquish day-to-day operations to his wife and CEO, Tanya. While Snyder initially acquiesced, reports have indicated he’s since reclaimed his everyday role.

We’d like to see Snyder weasel his way out of this one.