Washington Commanders’ Daniel Snyder refusing to accept subpoena, U.S. House Oversight Committee says

Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder has refused a subpoena to appear before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Snyder recently declined an invitation to speak to the committee, which is currently investigating Washington and the NFL’s handling of allegations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct. 

The committee tried to deliver the subpoena Friday, but it was declined by Snyder’s attorney on behalf of her client. The committee provided one date for Snyder for a future deposition and did not attempt at accommodating different scenarios, according to The Athletic. 

“Mr. Snyder has so far refused to accept service of the committee’s subpoena,” a spokesperson for the committee said in a statement. “While the committee has been and remains willing to consider reasonable accommodations requested by the witnesses, we will not tolerate attempts to evade service of a duly authorized subpoena or seek special treatment not afforded to other witnesses who testified in this matter. The committee will not be deterred from obtaining Mr. Snyder’s testimony, and we remain committed to ensuring transparency about the toxic workplace culture at the Washington Commanders and the NFL‘s inadequate response.”

A spokesperson for Snyder released a statement shortly after that the Commanders owner “has not refused to appear for a deposition.”

“The Committee offered only one date — June 30 — and Mr. Snyder’s attorney is out of the country and unavailable on that date,” the statement continued, via ESPN. “Mr. Snyder’s lawyer has provided alternative dates to the Committee and looks forward to finding a path forward for Mr. Snyder’s further cooperation and to address remaining due process concerns.”

Last summer, the NFL fined Snyder’s franchise $10 million at the conclusion of their workplace misconduct investigation. The investigation was launched after The Washington Post report that included 15 former employees claiming that they were sexually harassed during their time with the franchise. A second report published by The Post cited interviews with over 100 employees who claimed Snyder “has presided over an organization in which women say they have been marginalized, discriminated against and exploited.” 

Snyder was accused of attempting to use cheerleaders in inappropriate ways, including having inappropriate videos of cheerleader photoshoots created for him. 

In February, six former employees of the franchise joined leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee for a roundtable discussion about workplace misconduct within the organization. The roundtable led to more accusations that included claims of inappropriate behavior by Snyder. The Oversight Committee’s chairman and chairwoman believe the NFL “covered up” alleged misconducted from the six former employees prior to the league’s investigation. 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell can propose firing any owner, shareholder or partner for wrongful conduct and would take that complaint to the league’s Executive Committee. Goodell would need three-fourths of the committee to vote to terminate the owner. 

The 57-year-old Snyder has owned the franchise since May of 1999. Washington is 156-212-1 during Snyder’s ownership. Washington has won two playoff games and has made the playoffs six times over that span. 

In March, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that Snyder has ceded day-to-day operations of the team to his wife, Tanya. 

“Dan Snyder has not been involved in day-to-day operations,” Goodell said, via The Post. “Don’t believe he’s been at the facility at all, and when we continue to have league matters, Tanya has represented the team as CEO both on a day-to-day basis, but also here with the league. She represented the club here [at the league meetings] and that will continue for at least the foreseeable future, but Dan and I will talk about that at some point.”