In recent days, there’s been a rumor circulating that some NFL owners are “counting votes” to remove Commanders owner Dan Snyder from his position following various sexual harassment, toxic work environment and financial impropriety allegations.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about this rumor at a press conference on Tuesday, and apparently, he wasn’t aware of Snyder’s removal being a possibility.
“I’m not aware of that at all,” Goodell said, via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
It‘s quite possible that a move towards an owner’s vote hasn’t happened yet, but rather just talk. If a vote does occur, it would require 24 out of 32 owners to vote that Snyder, who has been the owner since 1999, be removed from his position.
The Commanders are being investigated by Congress, and separately by the Federal Trade Commission and the Virginia attorney general, all due to financial controversies surrounding Snyder and his ownership.
In April, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Reform penned a letter to the NFL to discuss some of their findings, saying that Snyder “may have engaged in a troubling, long-running, and potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct that victimized thousands of team fans and the National Football League.”
Washington has previously denied any financial impropriety since the allegations arose March 31. It is the second investigation into the franchise since allegations of sexual harassment in Washington’s workplace arose in summer 2020. In July 2021, the Commanders were fined $10 million by the NFL after the league investigated the organization’s work environment.
Six former employees were interviewed by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Feb. 3. They detailed misconduct, including claims about Snyder’s own inappropriate behavior. In early April, former Washington sales executive Jason Friedman secretly testified before the committee and discussed the franchise’s alleged financial malfeasance.
Snyder “has not been involved in day to day operations” during the investigation, as reported in March by Goodell. Snyder’s wife, Tanya, has taken over running the team in the meantime.
