A woman accused Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder of sexually assaulting her in 2009. She was later paid $1.6 million as part of a confidential settlement, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Post. The disclosure of the letter occurs one day before the House Oversight Committee holds a hearing stemming from its investigation of the Commanders workplace culture.
Snyder was invited along with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to testify during Wednesday’s hearing. Snyder has declined the invitation, citing he will be out of the country on business matters. Goodell will appear virtually.
The letter comes from an attorney working for the team at the time. It details the woman’s claims against Snyder while discrediting her. As part of the settlement, the woman agreed not to sue or publicly disclose her allegations.
Former team counsel David Donovan oversaw the investigation as opposed to the NFL. The incident was discovered initially during Beth Wilkinson’s investigation into the team’s workplace culture that started in July 2020. However, Donovan sued Wilkinson in 2020 to keep her from disclosing details of the 2009 investigation as part of her report to the NFL.
The woman detailed Snyder “asking her for sex, groping her and attempting to remove her clothes” on the team plane during a flight from Las Vegas.
Snyder denied the women’s allegations, according to letter. An attorney wrote the woman’s allegations were “knowingly false.”
Wilkinson’s investigation is one of two overseen by the NFL into the Commanders workplace culture. Her investigation resulted in the team being fined $10 million. Meanwhile, Snyder stepped away from overseeing the day-to-day operations of the team.
A second investigation followed a separate set of sexual harassment allegations by a former team employee that were highlighted during a roundtable with the House Oversight Committee in February.
