The attorney general for Washington, D.C., has filed a civil lawsuit against the Washington Commanders, team owner Daniel Snyder, the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell for allegedly colluding to deceive fans and district residents about the league’s investigation into the team’s toxic workplace culture and allegations of sexual assault in an effort to maintain a strong fan base and to increase profits.
Attorney General Karl Racine (D-D.C.) said his office was suing “because you can’t lie to D.C. residents in order to protect your image and profits and get away with it. No matter who you are.” Racine then added, “Even if you’re the National Football League.”
Racine said his office opened its investigation last fall and plans to subpoena Snyder as well as former employees, promising accountability and transparency as the case moves through the court system.
Racine alleged that while the league and the team publicly promised an independent investigation, “Snyder waged an interference campaign to cover up years of harassment” and that “the NFL let him do it, betraying fans’ trust by enabling Snyder to have a say at the end of the investigation into him and the Commanders.”
Racine said his office has jurisdiction to sue because the District of Columbia’s consumer-protection law is broad and covers any material misstatement that a business or merchant makes that could affect consumers in the district. He said the district is filing a civil complaint because his office does not have criminal jurisdiction on the matter.