Daniel Snyder, Washington Redskins. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Daniel Snyder isn’t only an incompetent owner. He’s allegedly enabling a culture of sexual harassment.
Whenever the Washington NFL franchise decides on a new nickname, team owner Daniel Snyder shouldn’t be anywhere near the announcement.
No, Snyder should be home with the rest of us. He should be wondering how it all went this way. Then, he should get up, walk to a mirror and stare for awhile.
Snyder’s well-documented failures on the field and in free agency pale in comparison to the bombshell reporting on Thursday in the Washington Post. There, it was alleged the organization has run rampant with sexual harassment, ranging from employees texting women about their breasts to looking up staircases to see under skirts.
While Snyder wasn’t implicated as doing the harassing, he’s the team owner. Many of those in his employ were accused directly in the piece. In some cases, including Director of Pro Personnel Alex Santos and Assistant Director of Pro Personnel Richard Mann II, Snyder fired them earlier this week.
It’s a strong possibility Snyder knew the piece was coming and tried to get out in front. The classic too little, too late.
Not shockingly, Snyder refused to be interviewed for the Post’s story. He hasn’t released a statement, either. This is because he’s a gutless coward, someone who took decades to change a racist nickname and only did so when FedEx and Nike, two league partners, put financial pressure on him.
None of this is slightly surprising. Snyder has long been a miserable scourge on society.
Two years ago, a story reported by the New York Times came out stating Washington’s cheerleaders were being made to do topless photoshoots for calendars in 2013 with sponsors present. This incident took place in Costa Rica, where Washington had some of its cheerleaders go with these male sponsors as personal escorts to nightclubs.
Now, another report. This time, the NFL has to remove Snyder and never look back.
The league faced a similar issue in 2017 when Carolina Panthers owner and founder Jerry Richardson was accused of sexual harassment in the workplace. Richardson was not forced to sell, but did so in the following days.
Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league must do their own investigation. Should they find these allegations — any of the 15 — prove true, it’s time. Snyder may fight, but he’d face an uphill battle with ample pressure from other owners undoubtedly on him.
Snyder bought the Washington team at 35 years old in 1999. It was one of the most stable, revered franchises in American sports. From 1982-91, Washington won three Super Bowls and went to four. In Snyder’s 21 seasons at the helm, Washington hasn’t sniffed a Super Bowl. It has never reached an NFC Championship Game.
In short, he’s been a complete failure across the spectrum.
Of course, there are myriad bad owners in sports. They don’t have league interventions to remove them. Snyder could have lost 15 games per season and owned Washington for another 40 years. However, with Thursday’s accusations, the NFL has little choice but to make the correct step of removing him.
If a workplace isn’t safe for one, it’s not safe for all. Clearly, Washington’s offices have been toxic for years.
Snyder may not have harassed, but he did nothing to stop it. Time to go.