Lawyer worried Snyder got client names via NFL

In a missive to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell connected Tuesday, an lawyer for 4 twelve erstwhile Washington Commanders employees raised "serious concern" that the NFL violated "a precise circumstantial promise" of confidentiality that was made to her clients earlier they testified to investigators astir Dan Snyder and the team's toxic workplace culture.

Lisa Banks, the Washington, D.C., lawyer, cited an ESPN study past week that the Commanders' lawyers utilized NFL researcher Beth Wilkinson's enquiry arsenic a "tip sheet" to compile an "enemies list" that was utilized by Snyder's instrumentality steadfast to committee backstage investigations and "harass" her clients, including erstwhile squad cheerleaders and different erstwhile employees.

"If true, this was successful wide usurpation of a precise circumstantial committedness the NFL made to our clients, done Ms. Wilkinson and her team, that witnesser names would beryllium kept confidential and not shared with Mr. Snyder oregon the Washington Commanders," Banks wrote successful the missive to Goodell, which was cosigned by her instrumentality partner, Debra Katz, and obtained by ESPN.

Banks besides threatened to writer the NFL. "If true, the 'tip sheet' allegation is not lone morally reprehensible," Banks wrote, "but it besides provides the ground for america to instrumentality ineligible enactment against the NFL, which we volition bash fixed the superior harm caused to our clients by their reliance connected the NFL's promises."

Banks asked for a gathering with Goodell to sermon whether the "tip sheet" allegation is "unfounded."

"If you disregard our request, arsenic you person with our past requests to speech to you directly, we volition presume that the reporting by Mr. Van Natta is existent and we volition determination guardant with ceremonial ineligible enactment connected behalf of our clients," Banks wrote.

A Commanders spokesperson issued a connection Tuesday, calling ESPN's reporting "false" and saying that "neither the squad nor Mr. Snyder was ever advised by the NFL, Ms. Wilkinson, oregon anyone else, astir the advancement of the investigation, oregon who had been interviewed successful transportation with it -- either during the probe oregon afterwards."

"Even now, the squad and Mr. Snyder person not received immoderate accusation from the NFL oregon Ms. Wilkinson connected these matters," the connection said.

Goodell has said repeatedly, including during grounds earlier a Congressional committee successful June, that helium did not inquire Wilkinson for a written investigative study "for compelling reasons that proceed to this day" -- to support the women's anonymity.

"We determined that a broad oral briefing would champion let america to person the accusation indispensable some to measure the workplace arsenic it was, and to guarantee that the squad enactment successful spot the policies and processes to betterment that workplace -- each portion preserving the confidentiality of those who participated successful the investigation," Goodell told the committee.

Banks said Goodell utilized the anonymity of her clients to warrant the determination to not merchandise Wilkinson's investigative findings, but she has discovered that the NFL utilized the witnesser database arsenic "a extremity sheet" to let Snyder and his lawyers to analyse and "harass" her clients. Four of Banks' clients were approached by backstage investigators, she said, and 1 was visited by a backstage researcher wrong a time of speaking to Wilkinson's investigators, Banks said. According to legislature testimony, the investigators were hired by Snyder's instrumentality steadfast Reed Smith, and Banks said the investigators told her clients they were hired by Reed Smith.

"It's infuriating that Roger Goodell claimed helium couldn't merchandise the Wilkinson study due to the fact that helium was protecting my clients' confidentiality, and present we find retired that helium allowed the investigation's witnesser database to beryllium utilized arsenic "a extremity sheet" for Dan Snyder's lawyers and their backstage investigators," Banks told ESPN.

"But if it wasn't for that assurance, immoderate of my clients would not person participated successful this investigation," Banks told ESPN successful an interview. "They feared retaliation from Dan Snyder."

An NFL spokesperson did not instantly respond to a petition for remark Tuesday.

The NFL and Commanders struck a "common involvement agreement" connected Sept. 8, 2020, to stock accusation during the Wilkinson enquiry of Snyder and the Washington franchise's toxic workplace culture. The statement says that the NFL and the squad "share communal ineligible interests, and that successful furtherance of specified interests, the Parties person and volition proceed to stock accusation and communications with Wilkinson Walsh and with each different successful transportation with the Investigation." In a memorandum issued successful June, legislature investigators wrote that the statement opened a backmost transmission to the probe, and that "Snyder continued to person periodic updates passim the people of the Wilkinson Investigation."

The statement was signed 9 days aft the NFL took implicit the Wilkinson probe from the squad due to the fact that the league discovered Snyder's attorneys were interfering with her enquiry into the toxic workplace culture.

Wilkinson did not merchandise a last study of her findings of Snyder and the team. She made an oral presumption to Goodell, who connected July 1, 2021, fined Snyder $10 cardinal and said Snyder agreed to "step away" from the day-to-day moving of his team.

After the NFL took implicit the investigation, Banks said she complained successful an email to Lisa Friel, the NFL's peculiar counsel for investigations, that astatine slightest respective of her clients were being harassed by backstage investigators.

Banks said successful her missive that "after the NFL revealed witnesser names, respective of our clients were harassed by backstage investigators, immoderate were publically disparaged and/or removed from squad alumni groups, astatine slightest 1 who was inactive moving for the squad was terminated."

"No 1 ever believed that Roger Goodell did not merchandise the Wilkinson study due to the fact that helium cared astir confidentiality," Banks said successful an interview. "Reports are routinely written successful a mode to support the individuality of individuals truthful they tin beryllium made public, conscionable arsenic Mary Jo White's study soon volition be."

White, a erstwhile SEC chairwoman, is presently investigating Snyder, including allegations that helium sexually harassed 2 women, successful an enquiry that began successful February. When she reports her findings to Goodell, the commissioner intends to conscionable with Snyder, league sources say.

John Brownlee, 1 of Snyder's lawyers, was asked connected a Washington vigor presumption Monday wherefore Snyder and squad lawyers don't "dissolve the communal involvement agreement" and merchandise Wilkinson's findings.

"Roger Goodell went earlier legislature nether oath and told Congress determination is nary report. And helium told Congress that helium decided -- helium unsocial decided -- that helium didn't privation a written report. What helium wanted was the findings presented to him successful a gathering orally by Beth Wilkinson," Brownlee said. "He acceptable this up this mode due to the fact that helium wanted radical to consciousness similar they could travel in, talk freely to Beth and not person immoderate written study retired determination that reveals their identity."

Brownlee added that erstwhile Commanders employees who person testified earlier a Congressional roundtable and person spoken retired publically were "free to bash that" and the "team did thing to effort to halt that."

He said that determination is "no Wilkinson study to merchandise ... and the squad and Dan Snyder had zero to bash with that."

Banks said of the statement betwixt Snyder and the NFL, Snyder had "veto power" connected the merchandise of immoderate findings. "The crushed that Goodell gave is ridiculous," Banks said. "Reports are written and produced routinely wherever names are redacted oregon different anonymized.

"That's however these reports are done. That's however Mary Jo White's study volition beryllium done. They chose not to bash it present not due to the fact that they were trying to support confidentiality oregon confidences but they were trying to support Snyder."

Prior to an NFL owners gathering astatine a Manhattan edifice Tuesday, a elder squad enforcement told ESPN the "common involvement agreement" has ever troubled elder executives and immoderate owners due to the fact that it helped Snyder and the NFL jointly show and power the Wilkinson investigation.

"Everyone knows the communal involvement statement is the main vulnerability for the league," said the squad executive, who spoke connected information of anonymity. "It's the main anemic constituent for the league."