WASHINGTON — The attorney general for the District of Columbia says his office is filing a civil consumer protection lawsuit against the Washington Commanders, owner Dan Snyder, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Attorney General Karl Racine announced the civil complaint at a news conference Thursday, saying Snyder, Goodell, the team and league colluded to deceive DC residents about an investigation into the organization’s workplace culture.
“For years, the team and its owner have caused very real and very serious harm and then lied about it to dodge accountability,” Racine said, adding Goodell and the NFL misled the public. “They did all of this to hide the truth, protect their images and let the profits continue to roll.”
Racine said the team and league violated consumers’ rights based on what they knew about the organization’s workplace misconduct, alleging Snyder lied about his knowledge of the situation.
Four posters flanked Racine during his announcement, outlining some of the history of the team’s rebranding efforts that included references to DC and its flag and the history of the NFL’s investigation into the organization’s workplace culture.
“Dan Snyder assured fans that he would fully cooperate with the investigation and the results could be trusted,” one of the posters read. “That was a lie: He repeatedly attempted to interfere, and the fans could not trust the results that were never made public. Because Snyder had a veto.”
The findings of Beth Wilkinson’s investigation were not released in July 2021 when the league found the team $10 million for causing a toxic workplace culture. The final poster read: “Fans’ outrage intensified when it became clear that Snyder lied to them: There would be no transparency and no reckoning. That impacted consumer spending decisions.”
Lawyers Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represent more than 40