“Faced with public outrage over detailed and widespread allegations of sexual misconduct and a persistently hostile work environment at the Team, Defendants made a series of public statements to convince District consumers that this dysfunctional and misogynistic conduct was limited and that they were fully cooperating with an independent investigation,” the lawsuit says. “These statements were false and calculated to mislead consumers so they would continue to support the Team financially without thinking that they were supporting such misconduct.”
The lawsuit is being filed in the civil division of the D.C. Superior Court. It alleges the team and league violated the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act with “public misrepresentations, omissions, and ambiguities of material fact.” Racine’s office said it is seeking “financial penalties under the CPPA for every incident in which the Commanders, Mr. Snyder, the NFL, and Commissioner Goodell lied to District residents dating back to July 2020,” adding that the defendants “could face millions of dollars in penalties.”
Racine’s office said it also will seek a court order to force the NFL to release the findings of a previous investigation, conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson, into the team’s workplace.
“OAG’s thorough investigation revealed that the Commanders, the NFL, and their executives, Mr. Snyder and Commissioner Goodell, worked to prevent District residents from learning the truth and keep profiting,” Racine said in a statement. “They publicly promised to fully cooperate with an independent investigation into the toxic work environment and sexual harassment within the Commanders organization and promised results the fans could trust. But behind the scenes, Mr. Snyder waged an interference campaign to cover up years of harassment. And the NFL let him do it, betraying fans’ trust by enabling Mr. Snyder to have a say at the end of the investigation into him and the Commanders.”
The Commanders said Wednesday in a statement that Racine “appears more interested in making splashy headlines, based on offbeat legal theories, rather than doing the hard work of making the streets safe” and cited the August shooting in Washington of Brian Robinson Jr., a rookie running back for the team. Later in the evening, Commanders President Jason Wright said in a statement that the team should have kept the two issues separate.
The action comes as Racine prepares to leave office, and it results from an investigation started in the fall of 2021. Snyder and the Commanders are also being investigated by the NFL, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the office of Jason S. Miyares (R), Virginia’s attorney general.
In addition, investigators for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia have interviewed witnesses about allegations of financial improprieties involving the team, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. The team has denied committing financial improprieties.
Racine’s office does not have criminal enforcement authority in the matter.
Racine said his office “interviewed numerous witnesses, including former Commanders employees who experienced and witnessed harassment” and “reviewed thousands of internal documents produced by the Commanders and the NFL, including emails.”
The lawsuit says it “seeks accountability from the Washington Commanders, Snyder, the NFL, and Commissioner Goodell for public…
Read More: D.C. attorney general sues Daniel Snyder, Commanders, NFL
