The investigation by Mary Jo White, the former U.S. attorney hired by the NFL in Feb. 2022 to probe the most recent allegations of sexual harassment against the Washington Commanders and owner Dan Snyder, may be nearing a conclusion.
ESPN reporter Don Van Natta told The Team 980’s “The Hoffman Show” on Tuesday that White is “still investigating” alleged sexual misconduct and the latest alleged financial improprieties involving the team and its owner and he has been told, “the report is going to be coming soon.”
“But my understanding is the report is coming soon, I’ve had a couple of sources tell me that,” Van Natta told Team 980.
Van Natta told Hoffman that “the NFL has insisted that the Mary Jo White report is going to come out, it’s going to be made public, unlike the Beth Wilkinson investigation which was just a summary, which was delivered orally.”
There were expectations the findings from Wilkinson’s extensive months-long probe would result in a written report and be made public. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell instead received the findings of the investigation in an oral report and the league did not release details of that report. The league levied a $10 million fine against the Commanders as a result of the investigation in July 2021.
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Snyder was seeking to get the NFL to keep the findings of the White investigation confidential.
Questions Van Natta had for Goodell is if Snyder sells the team before the report on White’s investigation is released, will that report be released? And if it is possible that the report has not yet been released in an attempt to use it as a way to push Snyder to sell the team.
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"The way to be rid of him, not just many of the owners, but also I think the league office, including commissioner Goodell," Van Natta told Hoffman.
On Monday morning, Van Natta reported a secret $55 million loan has become the primary focus of federal prosecutors in Virginia who are investigating alleged financial misconduct by Snyder and the team.
The report indicates Snyder got a line of credit in Dec. 2018 without the knowledge of his then-three minority partners – Robert Rothman, Dwight Schar and Frederick W. Smith – who owned 40 percent of the team. The issue is that obtaining that loan without approval from Washington's board of directors would be a violation of the team's shareholder agreement.
"This is jail time type of fraud," a source with firsthand knowledge of the proceedings told ESPN.
You can watch the full interview here:
Follow @BenKrimmel and @Team980 for more.
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