“For years, the team and its owners have caused very real and serious damage, avoided liability, and lied to keep making profits,” Racine said at a press conference. So far they seem to be getting around it, but that ends today.”
The suit was filed in the Civil Division of the DC Superior Court. The team and league are suing for violating D.C.’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act and for “public misrepresentation, omission, and ambiguity of material facts.” , Commissioner Goodell is seeking financial penalties under the CPPA for all incidents of lying to residents of the district dating back to July 2020,” the defendants said, adding that the defendants would “cover millions of people.” It’s possible,” he added. dollar fine. ”
Racine’s office also said it would seek a court order compelling the NFL to release the results of an earlier investigation conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson into the team’s workplace.
“In the face of public outrage over detailed and widespread allegations of sexual misconduct and a persistently hostile work environment at the team, Defendants have released a series of public statements, urging consumers in the district to take advantage of this feature. Incompetent and misogynistic behavior is curtailed and we have satisfied them that they are cooperating fully with an independent investigation,” the lawsuit states. “These statements are false and calculated to mislead consumers, so they continue to support the team financially without thinking they endorse such wrongdoing.”
The team and the NFL have denied the allegations.
“More than two years ago, Dan and Tanya Snyder acknowledged that an unacceptable work culture had existed within their organization for several years and apologized repeatedly for allowing it to occur,” he said. The commander’s attorneys, John Brownlee and Stuart Nash, said in a statement released by the team. “We agree with AG Racine on one point: the public needs to know the truth. I welcome this opportunity to establish once and for all what is fact and what is fiction.”
Goodell said the league did not release the findings of the Wilkinson investigation because it promised confidentiality to witnesses. He was fined and stated that Tanya, the wife of franchise co-CEO Snyder, would oversee the Commander’s day-to-day operations for an unspecified period of time.
“An independent investigation into workplace misconduct at the Washington Commanders was conducted thoroughly and comprehensively by Beth Wilkinson and her law firm,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement Thursday. “Following the completion of the investigation, the NFL released a summary of the findings of Mr. Wilkinson’s investigation and issued a record fine to the club and its ownership. We reject the legally unsound, factual and unsubstantiated allegations made against us and will vigorously defend ourselves against those allegations.”
The NFL and Goodell said the results of a second investigation conducted by attorney Mary Jo White will be made public.
The lawsuit comes as Racine prepares to resign and is the result of an investigation that began in the fall of 2021. Snyder and the commander are also being investigated by the House Oversight Reform Committee and the office of Jason S. Myares(R), Virginia Attorney General.
Additionally, investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia interviewed witnesses about allegations of financial fraud involving the team, according to people familiar with the matter. did.
Racine’s office has no criminal enforcement powers in this matter.
The lawsuit seeks to “deal with Washington Commander, Snyder, the NFL, and Commissioner Goodell for public statements, ambiguities, and omissions that tend to mislead district consumers in the form of injunctive relief, civil penalties, and reparations.” We demand accountability,” he said.
Racine said Snyder, the team, Goodell and the league “have every right to respond to complaints,” adding, “They can ask us to dismiss our lawsuit. We will issue a subpoena. seeks testimony under oath — deposition. Because no one has surpassed it.”
Racine “seems more interested in making flashy headlines based on outlandish legal theories than doing the hard work of making the streets safe,” the commandant said in a statement Wednesday, referring to Washington. The team’s rookie running back. Late Wednesday night, team president Jason Wright said in his statement that the commander should have kept the matter separate.
“It’s customary for bullies to try to bully their victims,” Racine said Thursday. “It is common for bullies to try to bully public officials. So I set fire and boy, boy…the crowd got our backs.
Because DC is not a state, adult felony prosecutions in the city are handled by U.S. judicial authorities, not by the Attorney General.
Racine announced last year that he would not seek a third term. DC attorney Brian Schwalb was elected as his successor on Tuesday. With Racine’s endorsement, Schwalb won the race for the Democratic nomination in June and was unopposed in Tuesday’s election. The firm has over 700 attorneys and staff, and through criminal and civil channels he is responsible for enforcing DC law.
“I am confident that this case will continue to move forward,” Racine said.
As the district’s first elected attorney general, Racine’s tenure has been marked by litigation and lawsuits large and small that fit within the limited confines of his office. Racine tracks negligent landlords and rogue vendors with a focus on tenant and consumer protection.
But he also has a bigger swing. In recent years, he has filed lawsuits against Facebook, Amazon, DC’s Rome His Catholic Clergy, and President Donald Trump. He filed federal lawsuits against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in the wake of his Jan. 6 riots, and most recently partnered with the Attorneys General of California and Illinois to file a lawsuit against the Safeway-owned grocery chain. Stopped Albertsons from paying his $4 billion to shareholders ahead of the proposed proposal. Merged with Kroger.
Attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represent more than 40 former team employees, said in a statement Thursday: The team’s decades of sexual harassment and lies designed to cover up abuse affected not only victims of that abuse, but also consumers in the District of Columbia. Submissions are also an important step in verifying the experiences of the brave women and men who have come forward to share their experiences, and in achieving for the first time some level of transparency about the extent of wrongdoing. ”
Megan Imbert, former producer of the team’s broadcast division, attended Racine’s press conference on Thursday.
“Frankly, for the last two and a half years, this is kind of the moment we’ve been waiting for,” she said. “We have been asking for transparency and accountability. I’m here.”
Commanders announced last week that Daniel and Tanya Snyder have hired an investment bank to “review potential transactions” related to the franchise. It didn’t specify whether it was considering it.
Among those mentioned as future buyers for the team is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post. Bezos’ potential partner in the tender, music mogul Jay-Z. Matt Ishbia, President and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage. and media entrepreneur Byron Allen. Actor Matthew McConaughey is exploring the possibility of joining an investment group or forming an investment group to bid, a person familiar with the matter said.
“The way the law works is that legal blunders committed over a period of time must be proven regardless of whether there is a franchise sale,” Racine said Thursday. We will be accountable until we solve it, and if we do, we will tell you everything we find out.”
Michael Brice-Saddler and Liz Clarke contributed to this report.
