The Washington Football Team would love nothing but for their off-the-field issues to go away, but they’ve done so much dirt, that it continues to come out.
Attorney Beth Wilkinson, who was hired by team owner Dan Snyder to investigate the team’s culture, reportedly wants to unveil previously confidential information from a past sexual harassment lawsuit, according to Law360.com. The team believes Wilkinson is doing that to leak damaging information about the team.
The Washington Football Team believes Wilkinson’s attorney threatened to leak sensitive information about the team in an email. In that email, Wilkinson’s attorney says “any hearing on this [issue] could be a disaster for” the team.”
On top of that news is Front Office Sports reporting that an independent probe of the team “is expected to be delivered to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell within the next month.”
As part of the probe, email accounts of current and former team employees have been examined and shows “a toxic work environment and contain troubling exchanges, including nude photos and other inappropriate correspondence,” one source told FOS.
“One of those troubling exchanges came from vocal Snyder critic Donald Wells, who directed the WFT’s cheerleading squad for 12 years. Wells, one of the first openly gay employees of the WFT, lobbied for Snyder to be held responsible for the claims of workplace harassment that existed at WFT for years, allegations that are the focus of the investigation led by former assistant U.S. attorney Beth Wilkinson.
“They took advantage of (the cheerleaders) and did things to other people in the office, including me,” Wells told FOS. “What went on there was way worse than that (email). My gosh.”
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Front Office Sports also discovered discovered another email from September of 2007 that did not portray Wells in a very good light as it read, “She is a fat cross eyed, crazy chick,” Wells wrote about a cheerleader who quit the team. “… I am sure she will enjoy taking trashy pictures while she eats her big macs :).”
Wells, of course, stated he had no recollection of ever sending that email.
The NFL drew criticism last August after it said it wouldn’t hire an independent investigator to look into Washington’s alleged misconduct.
Former WFT cheerleader and marketing director Melanie Coburn started a petition on Change.org calling for Wilkinson’s report to be made public and “hold Dan Snyder accountable for the history of serial sexual harassment within his organization.”
The petition has more than 38,000 signatures.
