This week’s congressional hearing on the toxic workplace culture of the Washington Commanders has uncovered some despicable acts from owner Dan Snyder. Aside from serious sexual harassment allegations, former team Chief Operating Officer David Pauken told the House Oversight Committee several instances that shine more of a negative light on Snyder.
Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch shared a transcription of Pauken’s deposition prior to the hearing, detailing an incident in which Snyder ordered him to pour milk in the FedEx Field suite of Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner as payback for a business deal that disfavored Snyder.
“We completed a business deal with the Lerners that, in Dan’s view, was way too much money to pay, but we needed the parking,” Pauken’s testimony read. “Dan wanted to see Mark Lerner’s suite, and we go up there to his suite. This was on a non-gameday. Dan asked me to pour milk on the carpet under the seating in Mark Lerner’s suite so that the suite would smell like sour milk when the Lerner family came in on gameday. And he had [redacted] do that on another occurrence. So if you’re asking me things I regret doing, that would fall under that category. I owe Mark Lerner an apology, but I did it because Dan told me to do it.”
There is no question the Washington organization had a toxic culture. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged the sentiment during his testimony. However, he stressed the Commanders have already made strides in correcting itself.
The hearing is to understand the findings of the NFL’s first investigation. The results were not released publicly. The Committee found Snyder ran an ‘shadow investigation’ to discredit Commanders employees.
Snyder declined to testify during the June 23 hearing. But he didn’t have to for the picture to be painted unfavorably towards him. It remains to be seen what the Committee’s investigation will lead to in regards to punishment for Snyder. But, it sheds light on Snyder may have contributed to a toxic workplace culture.
