Washington NFL team exposed, 15 women accuse Snyder's inner circle of sexual harassment

On Thursday, the Washington NFL team was exposed by the Washington Post as they published an article where 15 women employees accused team owner Dan Snyder's inner circle of sexual harassment. The Washington Post bombshell report follows a string of sudden resignations in the organization, which includes men who have been accused of misconduct. As per the report, the team refused to release the employees from the non-disclosure agreement so they could speak freely. 

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Washington Post NFL article: Washington NFL team exposed by female employees in Wahington Post bombshell article

The Washington Post teased a "sickening” story revolving around the Washington NFL team, hinting that more than just a name change was happening in the franchise. The Washington Post bombshell article detailed accounts of female employees of the organization, highlighting allegations against Larry Michael, Alex Santos, Richard Mann II, Denis Greene and Mitch Gershman. Michael abruptly resigned this week, while Mann and Santos were fired.

Michael was the long-time radio voice of the team, Santos worked as the director of pro personnel and Mann was his top scouting assistant. However, Greene's career with the team ended in 2018 after the Redskins Cheerleaders scandal. As per 2018 reports, Greene had sold access to Redskins cheerleaders and forced them to shoot a topless photoshoot in 2013. 

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Washington Post bombshell article highlights Emily Applegate's story

While 15 women spoke to the publication, Emily Applegate was the only one who allowed her name to be published. Applegate, who worked as a marketing coordinator till 2015, explained in detail what was the 'most miserable experience' in her life. The accusations ran from 2006 to 2019, the Post reported, included unwanted sexual comments, pressures to wear revealing clothing and flirting with clients to close deals. 

"It was the most miserable experience of my life," Applegate said. "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."

As per the article, Dan Snyder refused to be interviewed regarding the matter despite multiple requests. Before publishing the story, the newspaper took the accusation to the team, which revealed that Michael and Santos were two names among those mentioned in the allegations. Michael would apparently make inappropriate sexual comments about his female colleagues and was reportedly caught on a 'hot mic' while talking about an intern's physical features, who was around the age of a college student.

On the other hand, six former female employees along with two reporters who covered the team accused Santos of making indecent remarks about their bodies and constantly asking if they were romantically interested in him. The accusations also extended to Mann, who's text messages discussing breasts of female employees was obtained and shared by the Post. 

While no one accused Snyder or former team president Bruce Allen of misconduct, they believe it was impossible that they remained unaware of the sexual harassment. "I would assume Bruce [Allen] knew, because he sat 30 feet away from me... and saw me sobbing at my desk several times every week," Applegate told the Post. 

Following the article, the team announced that they would hiring attorney Beth Wilkinson,  "to conduct a thorough independent review of this entire manner and help the team set new employee standards for the future." The team stated that they take 'issues of employee conduct' seriously, and would address the new allegations 'promptly'. However, they would not be making specific situations public. Prior to the article, the franchise was in the process for retiring their old name 'Redskins', while focusing on announcing a new name for the team. 

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Washington NFL team name change

After major sponsors like FedEx, Amazon, Walmart, Nike and Target threatened to cut ties with the team, they announced a review which would retire their old name before the 2020 season. FedEx was the first sponsor to make an announcement, stating that they would pull their name from the team's stadium in case the name remained unchanged. While American Indians have been protesting for a name change since over a decade ago, it became a focus once again following George Floyd's murder on May 25. 

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(Image source: AP)