WASHINGTON — Information about sexual assault allegations against Washington Commanders In 2009, Dan Snyder was the owner. The Washington Post reported this Tuesday that an attorney for the team had written a letter to Snyder.
Snyder was accused by a woman of sexually harassing, assaulting, and flying on a team aircraft in 2009. Snyder was later paid $1.6million by the team to settle her claims. The settlement and allegations of the woman were reported previously by the Post in December 2020However, specific details about the allegations were not made public.
In legal filings relating to earlier investigations into the team, the settlement was previously disclosed. As part of the settlement, she agreed not to sue or publicly disclose her claims.
According to Snyder's attorney's letter Snyder denied the woman’s allegations. A team investigation found that Snyder accused Snyder of fabricating the claims to try to extort him.
The contents of the letter were made public a day before the scheduled hearing by House Committee on Oversight and Reform. That committee is investigating Washington team's workplace culture. Snyder declined to be invited by the committee to testify. Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner was to give evidence remotely.
After an investigation by Beth Wilkinson, the NFL fined Snyder $10 million. Snyder was forced to resign from his day-to-day operations. However, the league refused to publish a written report from Wilkinson.
The committee discovered an allegation that Snyder had abused his female employees. Tiffani Johnston, a former employee of the team, claimed that Snyder had groped her at a dinner party and tried to force Snyder into his limousine. Snyder denied these claims.
The NFL ordered a new investigation into the team, led by Mary Jo White (ex-U.S. Attorney) and chairwoman of Securities and Exchange Commission. White is also investigating allegations of financial improprieties made by a former vice-president of sales for White. White's findings are expected to be made public by the NFL.
Howard Shapiro, an attorney from WilmerHale, wrote the letter to the Post. He had assisted the team with their investigation into the woman's claims. Shapiro stated that the woman's claims had been “knowingly false.” He declined to comment for the Post.
According to the letter, Snyder is accused of asking Snyder to have sex with her and groping her during a flight back from Las Vegas.
According to the letter, none of the passengers on the flight supported the woman’s account. Other passengers claimed that the door to the back of the plane was always open and that there were often other passengers or flight attendants in that area.
This report was compiled by the Associated Press.
