"Washington offered money for silence on workplace misconduct" - Two WFT employees claim team offered hush money
As the Washington Football Team (WFT) continues to juggle many scandals, some of its most prominent accusers say the team offered a financial settlement in exchange for their public silence.
Emily Applegate and Megan Imbert, two of WFT's many workplace misconduct accusers, told The Washington Post that lawyers for the team offered them a payment in February in exchange for them signing nondisclosure agreements and agreeing to stop doing news interviews and posting on social media about their experiences.
Applegate reportedly said that WFT lawyers' did not discuss any specific figure, but they expected the offer to be "disrespectfully low." Imbert indicated they had little interest in accepting any offer.
From the Washington Post, Imbert said the following, summarizing the message conveyed by Banks.
"They were upset about our social media presence and press. We turned it down because we see the bigger picture, and we have always been after meaningful change, both within the organization and across the league."
"It just felt like they wanted to bury this and shut us up," Imbert added.
Months later, the NFL's investigation into WFT, led by attorney Beth Wilkinson, concluded with a $10 million fine for the team but no public release of Wilkinson's findings or even a written report.
Some of what Wilkinson dredged up found the light of day via leaked emails that led to former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden's downfall last Monday.
The vile emails exchanged between Gruden, and former WFT president Bruce Allen were only a few of the hundreds of thousands — there are around 650,00 emails — reviewed during the investigation.
Lisa Banks puts pressure on the WFT
Former Washington Football Team Employees Urge Corporate Sponsors to Demand Transparency from the NFL about WFT Investigation
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Lisa Banks, the attorney for nearly 40 team employees who have alleged workplace misconduct in Washington, released a statement on Wednesday calling for six of the NFL's top corporate sponsors — Verizon, Amazon, Nike, Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble — to pressure the league into releasing Wilkinson's findings.
"Because the NFL has refused to act, it's time for the League's corporate sponsors, including Verizon, Amazon, Nike, Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble, to step in and join the demands for transparency and accountability for these brave former employees of the WFT."
Our statement calling on the NFL to release the findings of the Washington Football Team investigation. https://t.co/CUWFmy2k8A
Banks' strategy of hitting the league where it matters the most, its pocket, is an intelligent one. Since it is pretty evident that the NFL is protecting Dan Snyder and the WFT to defend itself, only losing sponsorship (money) may be enough to force NFL's hand into doing something.