The Washington Commanders are looking to save their season against the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football, so naturally ESPN published a bombshell report about widely-panned owner Dan Snyder hours before kickoff.
Snyder is currently under investigation due to new allegations stemming from a congressional committee probe into Washington’s workplace culture. The committee launched an investigation last year after the NFL decided against releasing a written report from the Beth Wilkinson probe in the summer of 2020.
The owner is accused of sexual harassment from former employees and withholding as much as $5 million in refundable deposits from season-ticket holders; which basically means he’s been taking money out of the NFL’s pocket.
Despite the mountain of evidence against Snyder, there’s been zero momentum hinting he could be forced to sell the team. Heck, the owner managed to avoid major punishment following the Wilkinson investigation. So what gives?
Backed into a corner, Snyder is seemingly prepared to go on the attack. That’s mentioned in the ESPN report, which was a lot to digest so let’s delve into some of the biggest takeaways from this unexpected bombshell.
2 takeaways from ESPN’s report on Commanders’ Dan Snyder
1. Snyder has gathered dirt on fellow owners and Roger Goodell.
From ESPN:
"“According to more than 30 owners, league and team executives, lawyers and current and former Commanders employees interviewed by ESPN, the fear of reprisal that Snyder has instilled in his franchise, poisoning it on the field and off, has expanded to some of his fellow owners. Multiple owners and league and team sources say they’ve been told that Snyder instructed his law firms to hire private investigators to look into other owners — and (Roger) Goodell.” “League sources say the NFL is aware that Snyder has claimed to be tracking owners. But none of the owners or sources would reveal how they learned of Snyder’s alleged effort to use private investigators. It’s also unclear how many owners are said to have been targeted, though sources say they believe it’s at least six. One owner was told by Snyder directly that he “has dirt on Jerry Jones,” a team source told ESPN, though the nature of the information was unclear. Another source confirmed that Snyder has told a confidant that he has “a file” on Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner who has served as Snyder’s friend, mentor and longtime firewall of support.”"
Snyder hiring private investigators to gather dirt on the owners, including Cowboys boss Jerry Jones, and Roger Goodell? Is anyone really surprised? Per the report, Snyder has reportedly told a close confidant that he holds enough information to blow up the commissioner and multiple other owners, alleging “they can’t f–k with me” and “the NFL is a mafia” in which “all the owners hate each other.”
“That’s not true,” one veteran owner said. “All the owners hate Dan.”
Pretty easy to see why that’s the case.
2. Snyder pushed Commanders to trade for Carson Wentz
This part brings us back to the Beth Wilkinson investigation. If you recall, Snyder was fined $10 million and was forced to cede day-to-day responsibilities to his wife, Tanya. While Snyder’s surprise appearance at Washington’s Week 4 game in Dallas marked his first public appearance in months, fans never really believed the power-obsessed owner fully relinquished day-to-day duties.
According to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, Don Van Natta Jr. and Tisha Thompson, Snyder is “far more involved running the club than most realize, imploring football decision-makers last March to trade for quarterback Carson Wentz.”
"“‘It was 100% a Dan move,’ says a source with knowledge of the inner workings of the deal. But in the team’s statement to ESPN, Rivera insisted that he brought the idea of acquiring Wentz to Dan and Tanya, who supported it. ‘They love this game and this team,’ he said.” Hearing that Snyder hopes a marquee quarterback will chase a way all his problems, an owner laughed: ‘Carson Wentz?'”"
This certainly opens a pandora’s box of questions. For one, Snyder directly violated the punishment stemming from the Wilkinson investigation. That’s a problem, but so is the punishment, which amounted to a slap on the wrist and wasn’t nearly substantial enough to actually convince Snyder to take a back seat.
On the other hand, you’re forced to question if Wentz is actually Rivera’s guy. With the head coach causing a stir this week by saying “quarterback” is the reason the Commanders aren’t as successful as the other teams in the division, this report certainly paints those comments in a different light.
Just another day in the life of being a Commanders fan. Remember, the team plays a season-defining game against the Bears in just a few hours.