Redskins have more problems than their name: “More than a dozen women allege sexual harassment and verbal abuse by former team employees at Redskins Park”

Time for Dan Snyder to sell the Washington team formerly known as Redskins

… part of the “change in culture” should be Snyder

The Washington Redskins have announced that they are changing their nickname because they have succumbed to public pressure, but Dan Snyder has problems beyond that. 

Earlier this month, three of their top management employees left the club, including the voice of the Redskins and the director of pro personnel. 

This has nothing to do with the problems raised by the nickname. Instead, a Washington Post story outlined the damage that has been done to the organization because of rampant sexual abuse and harassment, behavior that was sometimes confirmed by text messages. 

This is just plain ugly, and while Snyder is not directly implicated, the owner has to accept the fallout from it. 

Women who spoke, albeit most anonymously

The one woman who went on the record was a young person who thought that she had landed a dream job with the ‘Skins, Emily Applegate,

Except that it was anything but,

Applegate is one of 15 former female Redskins employees who told The Washington Post they were sexually harassed during their time at the club. The other 14 women spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing a fear of litigation because some signed nondisclosure agreements with the team that threaten legal retribution if they speak negatively about the club. The team declined a request from The Post to release former female employees from these agreements so they could speak on the record without fear of legal reprisal. This story involved interviews with more than 40 current and former employees and a review of text messages and internal company documents.

Liz Clarke, “From Dream job to nightmare,” Washington Post, July 16, 2020

Some of this is just plain sleazy,

The allegations raised by Applegate and others — running from 2006 to 2019 — span most of Snyder’s tenure as owner and fall into two categories: unwelcome overtures or comments of a sexual nature, and exhortations to wear revealing clothing and flirt with clients to close sales deals. Among the men accused of harassment and verbal abuse are three former members of Snyder’s inner circle and two longtime members of the personnel department:

• [Larry] Michael, senior vice president of content and “the voice of the Washington Redskins.” Seven former employees said Michael routinely discussed the physical appearance of female colleagues in sexual and disparaging overtones. In 2018, Michael was caught on a “hot mic” speaking about the attractiveness of a college-aged intern, according to six former employees who heard the recording. Michael declined an interview request and retired Wednesday.

• [Alex] Santos, the club’s director of pro personnel, who was accused by six former employees and two reporters who covered the team of making inappropriate remarks about their bodies and asking them whether they were romantically interested in him. In 2019, Santos was the subject of an internal investigation after Rhiannon Walker, a reporter for the Athletic, informed club management Santos had pinched her, told her she had “an ass like a wagon” and repeatedly asked her to date him, Walker said in an interview with The Post. Nora Princiotti, a reporter for the Ringer who formerly covered the team, also said in an interview that she was harassed by Santos. Santos, who was fired this past week, declined to comment.

• Richard Mann II, assistant director of pro personnel, who in one text message obtained by the The Post told a female employee he and his colleagues debated whether her breasts had been surgically enhanced and in another text message told another female employee to expect an “inappropriate hug … And don’t worry that will be a stapler in my pocket, nothing else.” Mann, who also was fired last week, declined to comment.

• Dennis Greene, former president of business operations, who implored female sales staff to wear low-cut blouses, tight skirts and flirt with wealthy suiteholders, according to five former employees, including Applegate. Greene’s 17-year career with the club ended in 2018 amid a scandal over the revelation that he had sold access to Redskins cheerleaders — including attendance at a bikini calendar photo shoot in Costa Rica — as part of premium suite packages. Greene declined to comment.

• Mitch Gershman, former chief operating officer, who Applegate said routinely berated her for trivial problems such as printer malfunctions while also complimenting her body. Two other former female employees supported Applegate’s account of her sexual harassment and verbal abuse by Gershman, who left the team in 2015.

Why did these women tolerate this behavior?

The reason was simple,

It was the most miserable experience of my life. And we all tolerated it, because we knew if we complained — and they reminded us of this — there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat.

Emily Applegate, Redskins employee in 2014 to 2015.

Liz Clarke, Washington Post, July 16, 2020

They even texted their inappropriate comments

How clueless were these guys?

Very,

In an exchange with one former female colleague, Mann joked about getting an “inappropriate hug.” In two exchanges with another female colleague, Mann informed her he and his colleagues were discussing whether her breasts had been surgically enhanced — “real or fake is the debate,” he texted — and offered to bring her lunch for a favor.

“If I bring that I want to squeeze your butt,” Mann texted.

“Unfortunately that was (is?) the culture,” one of these women texted a reporter after forwarding the messages. “So we felt like we had to roll with it.”

Liz Clarke, Washington Post, July 16, 2020

“Change in culture”

Former Carolina Coach Ron Rivera, who had led his team to the Super Bowl in the mid-20-teens, was hired as the new coach of the team, and he said that his job is to change the culture of the team,

In a phone interview, new team coach Ron Rivera declined to discuss why Santos and Mann were dismissed.

“We’re trying to create a new culture here,” Rivera said. “We’re hoping to get people to understand that they need to judge us on where we are and where we’re going as opposed to where we’ve been.”

Liz Clarke, Washington Post, July 16, 2020

In truth, for that to happen, the owner should be replaced. His other owners appear to be jumping ship, so this may be as good a time as any … but don’t hold your breath. 

Snyder has dragged this team down in the depths of despair, but his ego is such that he is never likely to give it up.