Former Washington football team employees personally delivered a letter to the NFL owners meeting on Tuesday. The group continued to ask for transparency regarding the league’s investigation into Washington.
Emily Appelgate, Brad Baker, Melanie Coburn, Rachel Curtis and Dominique Dupras signed the letter to the owners.
“We are writing to you as members of the NFL Social Justice Task Force to ask during the NFL owners meeting this week to pressure the NFL to release the findings of the Washington Football Team investigation (” WFT “)”, they wrote. . “While his task force was formed to address racial justice issues in the league, he also has the ability to seek justice for the hundreds of women and men, like us, who bravely come forward to share stories of harassment and abuse we experience. while the employees of the WFT “.
In 2020 the Washington Post was the first to report that team employees suffered sexual harassment. In a later report, the WFT cheerleaders claimed to have been secretly videotaped while stripping and came to terms with the team.
The NFL investigated the team, but did not have investigator Beth Wilkinson create a written report. Instead, he heard an oral report that found “the club’s culture was very toxic and well below the NFL’s values.” The NFL said it chose to hear an oral report because the matter was sensitive. The investigation concluded this summer.
Earlier this month, the New York Times discovered Emails between then-Washington president Bruce Allen and former Raiders coach John Gruden due to an investigation leak. In the emails, Gruden used misogynistic, racist and anti-LGBTQ language and resigned from his position as a result of the report. Although justified, former Washington employees are disappointed that Gruden, someone who was not part of the Washington Football Team organization, was the only one to lose his job.
The owner of the Washington soccer team, Daniel Snyder, stepped down from his day-to-day responsibilities for at least the “next few months,” while his wife, Tanya, assumed those responsibilities as a result of the investigation. The team was also fined $ 10 million.
On October 12, lawyers for the former Washington employees issued a statement urging the NFL to release the investigation’s findings to no avail. This time, they decided it was best to do it in person.
“The NFL is at a crossroads,” the letter read. “The NFL has long been plagued by racism, homophobia, and misogyny, on the part of property, players, and staff. The question for the NFL is not whether these issues of racism, sexism, and homophobia exist, but what is going to happen. do the league about that?
“If the NFL reveals the results of the investigation and takes meaningful action to address the underlying issues, that will send the message that the League does not tolerate misogyny and abuse.”
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.