NFL commissioner to testify at Commanders workplace misconduct hearing

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is set to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee as it investigates allegations of a workplace misconduct against the Washington Commanders and team owner Dan Snyder. 

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told The Hill on Wednesday that Goodell plans to testify virtually to the panel on June 22.

The Washington Post first reported the news. 

Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chair of the panel’s economic subcommittee, sent a letter to Goodell and Snyder earlier this month, inviting them to testify at a hearing before the committee. 

Snyder sent a letter to the committee on Wednesday declining to testify at the hearing, citing due process concerns and the committee’s refusal to push back the hearing’s date.

Snyder’s attorney, Karen Patton Seymour, also noted that the committee declined to provide Snyder and his team with information about some of the allegations made against him by a former employee.

“Mr. Snyder remains willing to continue cooperating with the Committee but is unable to attend the June 22 hearing given the Committee’s disregard for due process,” a source close to the owner told The Hill earlier on Wednesday.

The committee launched its initial investigation into the team in October based on allegations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct within the Commanders organization.

The probe followed the resignation of former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, whose email chain with then-Commanders President Bruce Allen was leaked to the public, containing racist, homophobic and misogynistic language. 

The house panel also sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission in April detailing evidence that the Commanders and Snyder engaged in a series of financial improprieties. This led to Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine (D) launching a separate investigation into the NFL franchise.

In a statement responding to Snyder’s letter, a spokesperson for the committee told the Hill that the panel “intends to move forward” with its scheduled hearing.

The league launched its second investigation into the team earlier this year after former cheerleader and marketing manager Tiffani Johnston, while speaking at a House Oversight roundtable discussion on the matter, accused Snyder of sexually harassing her during a work-related dinner.

The Commanders, formerly known as the Redskins and Washington Football Team, has been owned by Snyder since 1999. He and the team have denied both the allegations of sexual harassment and financial improprieties.