Washington Commanders investigation: DC Attorney General claims state will force Dan Snyder to take accountability after ‘bullying victims’ 

Washington Commanders and its owner Dan Snyder's legal peril increased this week. Washington DC Attorney General Karl Racine has announced that he will be beginning civil proceedings.

The defendants will be the team, Dan Snyder, the NFL, and league commissioner Roger Goodell. The lawsuit accuses the Commanders of having fallen foul of their consumer protection requirements.

It alleges that having hidden the bullying scandal and not made it public, the defendants have misled the consumers of DC. As the Attorney General, he has jurisdiction over that.

AG Karl A. Racine

@AGKarlRacine

BREAKING: My office is suing Commanders owner Dan Snyder, the Commanders, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and the NFL for colluding to deceive District residents—the heart of the Commanders’ fanbase—about an investigation into toxic workplace culture.

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BREAKING: My office is suing Commanders owner Dan Snyder, the Commanders, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and the NFL for colluding to deceive District residents—the heart of the Commanders’ fanbase—about an investigation into toxic workplace culture.

While it was a big blow to the Commanders and Dan Snyder, they compounded the situation further when their external counsel released a statement.

Instead of talking about the merits of the case, they accused the Attorney General of dereliction of duty. They accused him of trying to drag out this investigation instead of focusing on crimes in the area, such as that which affected their player Brian Robinson recently.

John Keim

@john_keim

From a Commanders spokesperson regarding the DC AG press conference Tomorrow:

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From a Commanders spokesperson regarding the DC AG press conference Tomorrow: https://t.co/TIMVfbUYtp

Bringing the personal tragedy of a player into their response went down poorly across the board and they were widely panned. The accusations on hand had nothing to do with the tragedy suffered by Robinson's family and an attempt to conflate the two seemed uncalled for.

It does not seem to have gone unnoticed by Attorney General Racine, who accused the team of carrying on with the same bullying patterns they have been accused of.

ProFootballTalk

@ProFootballTalk

D.C. AG Karl Racine, on last night's statement from the Commanders: "It's customary for bullies to try to bully victims."

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D.C. AG Karl Racine, on last night's statement from the Commanders: "It's customary for bullies to try to bully victims."

The Commanders later corrected the course, releasing a statement that did include the names of the external counsel. This can be perceived as an attempt to disassociate themselves from the team's response.

Chad Ryan

@ChadwikoTWW

Two things to clarify because I see some confusion;

1) Even though they are listed as 'counsel for the Washington Commanders', both Brownlee & Nash are external counsel.

2) Pay attention: that today's statement has their names after yesterday's didnt is no coincidence.

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Two things to clarify because I see some confusion;

1) Even though they are listed as 'counsel for the Washington Commanders', both Brownlee & Nash are external counsel.

2) Pay attention: that today's statement has their names after yesterday's didnt is no coincidence. https://t.co/n95UWI33Iw

In a press conference, Attorney General Racine again reiterated why he was going ahead with this lawsuit. He said that the investigation is brought about because the league and the Commanders colluded to keep DC residents in the dark about the toxic workplace culture.

He said that they misled consumers who paid to watch their games about the culture that existed and the steps taken to correct it.

NBC4 Washington

@nbcwashington

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine files civil lawsuit against Washington Commanders, owner Dan Snyder, the NFL, and NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell claiming they colluded to deceive Washington, D.C. residents about the team's workplace and culture. nbc4dc.com/EsreKMx

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D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine files civil lawsuit against Washington Commanders, owner Dan Snyder, the NFL, and NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell claiming they colluded to deceive Washington, D.C. residents about the team's workplace and culture. nbc4dc.com/EsreKMx https://t.co/vsqXdDm9ou

Besides the response from the Commanders, the NFL also weighed in with their response. They contended that the investigation was thorough, a summary of the findings was made public, and a record fine was levied. Hence, they plan to vigorously fight this lawsuit.

John Keim

@john_keim

From NFL spokesman @NFLprguy on the DC Attorney General lawsuit:

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From NFL spokesman @NFLprguy on the DC Attorney General lawsuit: https://t.co/t2vnPUvnur

Dan Snyder news - How much will the Commanders' owner sell the franchise for?

The Attorney General also confirmed that Dan Snyder's attempts to sell the Commanders will not bring a halt to any legal proceedings.

With the continued fallout from sexual harassment and bullying scandals, the NFL owners seem to be allegedly acting against Dan Snyder. This is putting pressure on him to sell the team.

Given that the current valuation of the Commanders is around $5.6 billion, the team is expected to fetch around that amount if put up for sale. In the case of a bidding war, it could go up to $7 billion.

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