Washington Redskins Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Investigation

On July 1, 2021, the NFL announced it was fining the Washington Football Team $10 million for allegations of pervasive workplace sexual harassment under Dan Snyder’s leadership. In a conference call about the announcement, the NFL’s special counsel said: “The culture of the club was very toxic and fell far short of the NFL’s values.”

However, the NFL stated it would not release any details of its report or address any allegations of abuse specifically.

Anonymous sources revealed to the Washington Post that the NFL’s investigation of Snyder also uncovered a $1.6 million settlement he paid to a former female employee alleging sexual misconduct from 2009. The NFL’s own press release on their investigation, however, omits this past settlement.

From 2006 through 2019, the Washington Post reports that many women say they experienced the following harassment from Washington Football Club members and patrons:

• unwanted touching
• prolonged and brazen upskirt leering
• repeated comments on appearance and direction to wear more revealing clothes
• sexual comments
• sexual propositions, in person and in late night texts

The article identifies these Redskins leaders as some of the alleged perpetrators. Soon after being contacted by the Washington Post, a number of them were fired:

• Larry Michael, club’s radio voice and Senior Vice President of Content—retired hours after WaPo requested an interview with him
• Alex Santos, former Director of Pro Personnel—fired after WaPo informed the team of allegations against him
• Richard Mann II, former Assistant Director of Pro Personnel—fired after WaPo informed the team of allegations against him
• Dennis Greene, former President of Business Operations—fired in 2018
• Mitch Gershman, former Chief Operating Officer—departed in 2015

According to the report by the Post, many women who’ve worked at the Washington Football Team say that club owner Daniel Snyder and former president Bruce Allen both knew about the pervasive harassment but did nothing to stop it. They say reports of sexual harassment were typically ignored or swept under the rug.

For example, in 2018, employees filed a complaint against Larry Michael after he was recorded on a hot mic making sexual comments about a college-aged intern. But when one employee submitted video of the incident, an attorney for the team simply deleted the video from the employee’s hard drive. Staffers never learned whether Michael was disciplined.

“They’re not going to get rid of ‘The Voice of the Redskins’…over a $30,000-a-year marketing manager.”
–anonymous male staffer

Our lawyers have decades of experience in complex litigation, personal injury lawsuits and bankruptcy litigation. For example, we are pursuing sexual abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America, we filed the first class action lawsuit on behalf of women sexually assaulted by UCLA gynecologist Dr. James Heaps, and our attorneys have years of experience representing victims of sexual harassment.

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Our attorneys have received numerous honors for their work, including “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California,” “Top Class Action Attorneys Under 40,” “Consumer Protection MVP,” “Best Lawyers in America,” and “Top Cybersecurity/ Privacy Attorneys Under 40.”