Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has hired an independent investigative team to look into allegations made against him by a former team employee last week in front of Congress.
First reported by Adam Schefter, the investigative team will be led by former assistant U.S. attorneys Bonnie Jonas and Tiffany Moller of Pallas Global Group LLC, specifically charged with looking into allegations made by Tiffani Johnston, who was among six former employees to participate in a roundtable discussion in front of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Capitol Hill last week.
Johnston, a former cheerleader and marketing director for the team, accused Snyder of making an unwanted sexual advance towards her at a dinner party, alleging Snyder put his hand on her thigh underneath a table. Johnston also accused Snyder of "aggressively" pushing her towards his limousine later that evening, saying Snyder only relented once his attorney intervened, insisting to the Washington owner that it was "a very bad idea."
Snyder later issued a public denial of the allegations made against him.
Pallas Global Group has retained Debra Wong Yang to lead the investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation, Yang will report her findings to Pallas Global Group and those findings will be released to the public, the team says.
The Commanders issued the following statement: "The Team is committed to a thorough and independent investigation of Ms. Johnston's allegation, and pledges full cooperation with the investigation."
In July 2020, Snyder hired attorney Beth Wilkinson to independently investigate rampant sexual harassment allegations levied against the organization, allegations made by former employees which spanned nearly two decades. The NFL later assumed oversight over Wilkinson's investigation from Snyder. After nearly a year, Wilkinson's findings were reduced to an oral report and the details were never released to the public, despite repeated pleas from those who participated in the investigation.
The NFL fined the organization $10 million as a result of the findings and Dan Snyder's wife, Tanya, was installed as co-CEO of the team.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is scheduled to hold his annual pre-Super Bowl press conference on Wednesday at 3 p.m. During last year's presser, Goodell pledged transparency about Wilkinson's investigation, which was said to be near completion at the time. Many are still awaiting that transparency.
