The Washington Commanders are confident enough in their denial of withholding ticket revenue from other teams that they are welcoming a former employee to file a defamation lawsuit against them.
On Saturday, Front Office Sports reported that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, that's investigating the Commanders, had received information alleging the organization "kept ticket revenue that is supposed to be shared with other NFL teams." That allegation would account for 40 percent of home ticket sales.
The Commanders denied the allegation on Monday, saying: "There has been absolutely no withholding of ticket revenue at any time by the Commanders. Those revenues are subject to independent audits by multiple parties. Anyone who offered testimony suggesting a withholding of revenue has committed perjury, plain and simple."
A short time later, Lisa Banks — an attorney representing approx. 40 former Commanders employees who participated in the Beth Wilkinson investigation — issued her own statement in response to the Commanders, accusing the team of defaming her client, Jason Friedman, who she says came forward to testify "truthfully" and "with evidence" in front of the Congressional Oversight Committee. Friedman is a former VP of sales and customer service for the Commanders, working for the team from 1996 to 2020.
"The Washington Commanders just released a statement to members of the media," Banks said. "In that statement, they defamed my client, Jason Friedman, who came forward at the request of the Congressional Oversight Committee and testified truthfully, with evidence. Unfortunately, Mr. Friedman is unable to defend himself publicly due to contractual constraints that prevent him from speaking freely. He would be happy to recount his testimony if Dan Snyder and the Washington Commanders allow him to do so. I will await their response."
Tuesday morning, the Commanders issued another statement (via John Keim), this one apparently aimed at goading Friedman into bringing a defamation lawsuit against the them. Commanders lawyer Joseph Tacopina: "The Commanders did not not reference Mr. Friedman — or anyone else — by name in their statement. However, if Mr. Friedman believes he has been defamed, he should bring a defamation suit. The Commanders will gladly accept service and vigorously defend any such claim."
One has to wonder what purpose such a statement serves, if not to publicly taunt a perceived rival. Still, it would be difficult to argue the organization's apparent confidence in its position, bolstering the notion that it has nothing to hide, in this instance.
It is odd, though, to see a team choose to split hairs so publicly — almost amplifying the ticket scandal, in a way, rather than letting it fall quietly out of the news cycle.
