On Monday, Chris Russell replayed an interview he did last week with Megan Imbert, one of the many whistleblowers on Dan Snyder’s improper conduct as Commanders owner, shortly after news broke that Snyder has accepted an agreement for Josh Harris to purchase the team.
Later in the day, Craig Hoffman welcomed another key figure in the investigations into Snyder: Melanie Coburn, a former 14-year Redskins cheerleader who has been one of the most vocal victims of the toxic culture within the Washington organization – and as you can guess, Melanie’s reaction was one of cautious optimism and excitement.
“Obviously, it was a big relief for me; I’ve been very cautiously optimistic throughout this whole process, and it’s sort of been anti-climactic with all the stages of the sale,” Coburn said. “I still remain cautiously optimistic; I know the NFL still has to approve, but the fact they put out that statement proves this is their intention, and they have approved this group. I feel relieved, I’m excited for new ownership, and I’m hopeful that the worst is behind us and the best is yet to come.”
As far-fetched as it may seem to some, Coburn revealed that getting Snyder out of the ownership ranks was indeed their ultimate hope and goal all along.
“That was the biggest goal. Most people thought it would never be possible, but in the backs of our minds, we knew what kind of human being Dan Snyder was, and he should not have the privilege of owning an NFL team,” Coburn said. “Now that more truths have come to the surface, we can all agree that he should not be in ownership. I’m super pumped that we’re here and it’s happening, but we’re still waiting for the (Mary Jo White) report, which is in progress.”
She also knows, though, there is still some downside to the situation, namely Snyder walking away with over $4 billion in profit.
“We’ll see what the NFL decides to do with this report, but I’ve said all along we want transparency so true accountability can take place,” Coburn said. “While Snyder has lost the franchise, he’s still going to profit substantially from this sale, but the NFL owes it to us to produce this report, and they owe those of us who have been involved in these investigations from the start some protection from Snyder moving forward for retaliating against us.”
With all that said, why did Coburn, and so many others, decide to finally come forward?
“Because too many people have been silenced, and there are too many stories of toxic culture. These things are not okay, and you can’t just pay people off; this behavior needs to stop,” Coburn said. “The NFL is the most prominent workplace in the country, and we can’t let this stand. I want future generations to have a safe place to work in the NFL; progress needs to be made, and unless people come forward and speak the truth, nothing tends to change.”
And as for the notion that Snyder might try to have part or all of the Mary Jo White report suppressed, the same way a previous investigation by Beth Wilkinson was?
“Several of us who were interviewed by Mary Jo White made it clear, with our attorneys present, that we wouldn’t participate unless there was a written, public report, and Mary Jo White promised that to us,” Coburn said. “There are recorded interviews working out those details before I would even speak, and I would believe she would not risk her reputation after promising all of us – and I’m fairly certain our attorneys will not let that happen. They will know if anything is being whitewashed.”
No one is certain what the future holds, but one thing is for sure to Coburn: she’s hopeful this is just the beginning of positive change, and that history doesn’t (and won’t) repeat itself.
“We’ve gotten this far, and I’m hopeful that more truth will come out,” Coburn said. “Even though he’s profiting, I know money is most important to him, but to me, my integrity and relationships are so much more important than a paycheck to get out of town. The NFL needs to learn from how they handled an owner who was out of control, and learn how to avoid this going forward – and it’s important for the new ownership group to come in and know what that was in that report, so they know what he did to everyone involved in the organization. It’s broken, and it needs to be reconciled.”
Listen to Coburn’s entire interview with Craig Hoffman above!
Follow The Hoffman Show on Twitter: @CraigHoffman & @HoffmanShow
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