The Washington Commanders have denied allegations of withholding ticket revenue from other NFL teams, suggesting that anyone who has offered testimony suggesting otherwise to Congress has perjured him/herself.
On Saturday, A.J. Perez reported for Front Office Sports that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform had received information that alleges the Commanders "kept ticket revenue that is supposed to be shared with other NFL teams," specifically the 40 percent of home tickets sales which are supposed to be shared with visiting teams.
"At least one person gave information in recent weeks to Congressional investigators that alleges the Commanders didn't pass along the full 40%," two sources with knowledge of the investigation told Front Office Sports.
The Commanders have issued a denial of the allegation, telling Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic: "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."
Attorney Lisa Banks has released a statement of her own in response to the Commanders' statement, which she says defames her client, Jason Friedman. Banks also represents a number of other former team employees who claimed to be sexually harassed while working for the team.
Here's Banks: "The Washington Commanders just released a statement to members of the media. 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."
This comes less than a week after reports surfaced indicating that congressional committee intended to expand its investigation into the Commanders beyond its initial purview, which was focused on allegations of sexual harassment and the NFL's apparent lack of transparency in its handling of the Beth Wilkinson investigation.
Several reports last week suggested the committee would be expanding its investigation to explore allegations of financial improprieties by the team. A spokesperson for the GOP wing of the committee pushed back, referring to expansion of the investigation as a "waste of Congress' time."
