Rep. Jamie Raskin is calling on the NFL to reveal the results of Mary Jo White’s investigation into officers
The NFL has repeatedly promised to disclose the results of attorney Mary Jo White’s investigation into the Washington Commanders. On Friday, a member of Congress urged the NFL to keep its promise.
Via Washington PostRepresentative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sent a two-page letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell on the subject.
Raskin said he is “encouraged by” the “stated commitment to full transparency” and that he expects the league to follow through on its promise.
“I am writing regarding the National Football League̵[ads1]7;s . . . investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and financial misconduct against Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder,” Raskin wrote. Mail. “More than a year has passed since your promise to ‘share the results of that investigation’, but to date no part of the information has been made public. In light of the impending sale of the Commanders franchise, I urge you to honor your commitment to release the report in its entirety and “take further disciplinary action if warranted.”
Goodell has repeatedly said the report will be published — unlike the report by attorney Beth Wilkinson, which was swept under the rug with a cursory summary released to the public on July 1, 2021.
“As you have previously acknowledged, with one of the most prominent platforms in America, the NFL is ‘held to a higher standard, and rightly so,'” Raskin wrote to Goodell. “You now have an opportunity to show the American people — and, most importantly, the victims of the commanders’ toxic workplace — that you will live up to this higher standard by ensuring transparency and accountability, by releasing Ms. White’s full report, and by taking further action consistent with the report’s findings.”
There is no reason to believe that the NFL will not disclose the report. There’s good reason to wonder if White’s report will come to a very different set of conclusions with Snyder selling the team than she would have if Snyder had dug in his heels and refused to sell.
Yes, some would say it’s a conspiracy theory. But White began her investigation in February 2022. Why hasn’t she closed it?
It’s reasonable to believe that she’s waited because the league (her client) has wanted her to wait, with the subtle (or otherwise) understanding that if Snyder eventually goes away, she won’t come to the kind of conclusions that would made him run.
Snyder has agreed to sell the team to a group led by Josh Harris. The NFL plans to meet to consider approving the deal on July 20.
After the sale is approved, we assume the league will release a sanitized and whitewashed report from White that finds endless evidence to support the allegations against the team and Snyder.
