House Committee on Oversight and Reform members Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) asked the NFL for information from its investigation into Washington Football Team.
“We write to request documents and information concerning the Washington Football Team’s (WFT) hostile workplace culture and the National Football League’s (NFL) investigation into this matter,” Maloney and Krishnamoorthi said in their letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Thursday.
The lawmakers expressed concern about the league’s handling of its WFT investigation, which lasted for a year but didn’t result in a written report.
The lawmakers also asked the NFL to turn over specific documents to their committee including details of the league’s role in overseeing hired attorney Beth Wilkerson’s investigation and WFT’s relationship with the league’s general counsel Jeff Pash by Nov. 4.
“We have serious concerns about what appears to be widespread abusive workplace conduct at the WFT and about the NFL’s handling of this matter. Communications between league management and WFT leadership also raise questions about the league’s asserted impartiality in these investigations,” Maloney and Krishnamoorthi wrote in the letter.
“In addition, we are deeply troubled by the reported use of non-disclosure agreements to potentially conceal inappropriate behavior, including conduct that is prohibited by federal laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act,” they added.
The initial WFT probe has come under new scrutiny after The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported contents of a series of emails found in the investigation which included racist, homophobic and misogynistic language, according to USA Today.
The reported email chains, which span from 2011 to 2018, involved then-WFT president Brice Allen, then-ESPN broadcaster Jon Gruden and Pash.
Gruden, who returned to coaching in 2018, resigned from his position with the Las Vegas Raiders last week after those emails resurfaced, USA Today reported.
“We have received the Chairwoman’s letter and share her concern that all workplaces should be free from any form of harassment and discrimination. We look forward to speaking to her office soon,” NFL spokesperson told The Hill in a statement.
Updated at 9:47 p.m.