The Washington Commanders and NFL were hit with a lawsuit on Thursday by the office of Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine.
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.
— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) November 10, 2022
“Faced with public outrage over detailed and widespread allegations of sexual misconduct and a persistently hostile work environment at the Team, Defendants made a series of public statements to convince District consumers that this dysfunctional and misogynistic conduct was limited and that they were fully cooperating with an independent investigation,” the lawsuit says. “These statements were false and calculated to mislead consumers so they would continue to support the Team financially without thinking that they were supporting such misconduct.”
The lawsuit is being filed in the civil division of the D.C. Superior Court. It alleges the team and league violated the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act with “public misrepresentations, omissions, and ambiguities of material fact.” Racine’s office said it is seeking “financial penalties under the CPPA for every incident in which the Commanders, Mr. Snyder, the NFL, and Commissioner Goodell lied to District residents dating back to July 2020,” adding that the defendants “could face millions of dollars in penalties.”
That was all a lie.
Instead, the NFL turned a blind eye to Snyder’s extensive efforts to silence or intimidate witnesses, and the NFL and Commanders entered into a secret agreement that gave Snyder power to veto the release of any results.
— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) November 10, 2022
With today’s lawsuit, we’re standing up for DC residents who were lied to and deceived.
And we’re standing with the brave victims and employees of the team who told us the truth during our investigation and came forward about what they suffered and witnessed while working.
— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) November 10, 2022
By suing today, we are using every enforcement tool at our disposal to hold the Commanders, Dan Snyder, the NFL, and Goodell accountable.
Read the complaint: https://t.co/Vt1ZvgZIeG
— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) November 10, 2022
The complaint can be found here.
And more on the situation can be read here.