What did NFL commissioner Roger Goodell say about Washington Football Team investigation?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell poured cold water on the prospect of the Washington Football Team investigation ever seeing the light of day.
Those affected by it, and the wider public, have been calling on Roger Goodell to make the findings and all associated evidence public. But Roger Goodell pushed back on technicalities. Here is how it panned out.
Roger Goodell speaks out on the Washington Football Team investigation
Roger Goodell said in a press conference that the NFL would not be releasing the findings of the investigation because they had promised anonymity to those who cooperated. He said:
"We're very conscious of making sure we're protecting those who came forward. They were incredibly brave, incredibly open, and we respect the pain that they probably went through all over again to come forward. That was a very high priority."
However, he was immediately contradicted by those who were part of the investigation. They said they had requested their names be hidden from those whom they were implicating or accusing.
This is false @nflcommish. We were told our identities would be kept confidential in a written report. Meaning, if I spoke about something that happened to me, there would be no way Dan or others could trace the info back to me. Not that there would be no written report. C'mon. twitter.com/MySportsUpdate…
Lisa Banks, who represents former employees in this Washington Football Team investigation, refuted Roger Goodell's statement. Others affected went on television to denounce Roger Goodell, saying that this was typical of him. They would have been more surprised if he had promised to make the Washington Football Team investigation report public.
WATCH - "Zero shock. It's pretty much on brand. I'm ready for this fight"
Tonight I spoke with former @WashingtonNFL Team employee @anunez_23 about Roger Goodell's press conference.
He said the NFL will not release details of WFT investigation.
More at 11pm on @7NewsDC https://t.co/pGviQ8jYzW
Roger Goodell also said that he felt that no further information was necessary because owner Dan Snyder had already been punished and had had to step away from football operations. He didn't clarify that the fine was levied on the franchise and not on the owner. His wife also became the CEO of the team once he stepped away.
@jemelehill Just goes to show there is so much more in the WFT report than Goodell has publicly shared. And the punishment dealt to Snyder, $10m fine and “relinquishing” operations to his wife, would be seen as ludicrous if the report were public. Release the report!!
Whether Roger Goodell's statement calms the situation remains to be seen. But that's unlikely given the prevailing mood. The only team hurt by the Washington Football Team investigation is the Las Vegas Raiders.
They lost their coach Jon Gruden after he was exposed as a misogynist, homophobe and racist. No one else has suffered the consequences and those in the wrong can continue to plead their innocence.
If Roger Goodell cared about the reputation of the NFL and wanted justice to be meted out to the accusers, he would not withhold the Washington Football Team investigation report.