"It’s despicable" - Dan Snyder in trouble over new sexual harassment and abuse claims
Washington Commanders team owner Dan Snyder is in hot water again after fresh allegations of sexual harassment and abuse claims were put forward against him.
According to the New York Post, six former Washington Commanders employees have put forth new allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Washington's owner on Thursday. The six employees then joined some leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee to delve into workplace misconduct happening inside the Washington organization.
One of the employees, former cheerleader Melanie Coburn, said that an NFL owner who hires people based on looks is "despicable."
"An NFL owner who hired and fired employees based solely on their looks, it’s despicable,” Coburn said.
The six employees who were present at the roundtable discussion were former coordinator of business development Ana Nunez, former video production manager Brad Baker, former marketing coordinator Emily Applegate, former cheerleader and marketing manager Tiffani A. Johnston, former cheerleader and director of marketing Melanie Coburn and former director of marketing and client relations Rachel Engleson. All were employed within the Washington organization at the time of the alleged offenses.
Coburn spoke about an incident that happened on what she called an "awards trip." She alleged that a co-worker was forced to drink alcohol "despite being a recovering addict." When the party returned to Snyder's house, Coburn said she was sent down to the basement and told to stay there. Coburn later found out why she was asked to do so.
“I later learned from a colleague, who was there, that it was because the men had invited prostitutes back,” Coburn said.
More accusations against Dan Snyder from roundtable discussion
One of the hosts of the roundtable discussion, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, gave an insight into why they chose to launch their own investigation into the allegations surrounding the Washington Commanders (then Redskins).
"We launched this investigation because the NFL has not been transparent about the workplace misconduct issues it uncovered within [Washington]," said Krishnamoorthi via CBS Sports.
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"These victims are bravely coming forward with their stories, sharing details of despicable abuse in their workplace... Our investigation will continue until the perpetrators of sexual harassment are held accountable," Krishnamoorthi added.
Brad Baker, who at the time was the team's video production manager, spoke about how he saw photos of the cheerleaders who were nude while going through the editing suite.
Baker stated that Snyder ordered his employees to edit photos of cheerleaders to create "good bits" for a video.
“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.”
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“It became crystal clear that my worst suspicions were true,” Baker added. “The video department had been told to edit together lewd footage of the cheerleaders at the request of Dan Snyder.”
This time it was supposed to be about Washington's new team name and celebrating the changes that are happening within the organization. Instead, more accusations are being leveled at Snyder by six former employees as this shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.