An attorney representing Dan Snyder says that the Commanders owner was asked to step away from the organization for roughly four months after the NFL announced its findings from the Beth Wilkinson investigation in July 2021.
Just to recap, Wilkinson was asked by the league to submit an oral report — after a nearly year-long investigation into the Washington organization that was fueled by sexual harassment claims — and the league later announced that it would be fining the organization $10 million.
Other reports at that time suggested Snyder had been suspended by the league, although there has previously been no evidence to support those claims. Around the same time, Snyder's wife, Tanya Snyder, was announced as the team's co-CEO and took over day-to-day team operations.
Now, a Commanders attorney, John Brownlee, has provided some clarity, telling 106.7 The Fan's Brian Mitchell and JP Finlay definitively that Snyder was "asked to step away from the team for several months."
"So, as part of the settlement in July of '21, there was a $10 million fine, which was the largest fine ever for a team," Brownlee said on 106.7 The Fan, "and Dan was also asked to step away from the team for several months, and I think that ended in November of 2021."
"Past that time," Brownlee continued, "there was no restriction and there's no restriction now. He can do what he wants to. He can go to league meetings if he wanted to."
Update: On Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about Snyder's status as owner and said, "It hasn't changed. There's been no change."
"That being said," Brownlee added, "the team has decided, and Dan has decided, that Tanya — and this was going back to 2021 — is really going to be the team representative at league meetings and has taken a much more active role in the team. I think that they feel like this in the best interest of the team. Obviously the controversy has its impact. I don't think anyone would deny that.
"And I think they also recognize that Tanya's doing a great job. She's a big value add. I mean, remember, she's been an owner of this team since the very beginning. Dan and Tanya have been married for almost 30 years and this is a family thing, and so her role has been increased over the last several years, and I think that from top to bottom, she's just been doing a great job. So, that's kind of where they come down on it."
"But as far as his ability to do things," Brownlee said, "there's no restriction on that. But they considered all the factors and decided that it's in the best interest of the team to go forward in this way and that's what they're doing."
When asked about ESPN's report which indicated that Snyder had hired private investigators to dig up 'dirt' on fellow NFL owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell, Brownlee replied bluntly: "Complete fabrication. Just didn't happen."
Listen to the full interview in the audio player above.
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