Congress not satisfied with league’s investigation
An investigation into sexual harassment of women employed by Washington’s NFL franchise was not as independent as the team and the league claimed, members ofCongress said Friday.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform released documents that showed the league and the team, now known as the Commanders, agreed to pursue a “joint legal strategy” relatedto the probe.
The private agreement was signed days after the league said it had taken over an investigation of the team initiated by owner Dan Snyder. It stipulated that any information exchanged as a result of the investigation was privileged and could not be sharedwithout the consent of boththe NFL and the team.
But NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement Friday that the league, and not the team, would determine what information from the investigation could be released.
The committee also found that the team and Snyder agreed that attorney Beth Wilkinson’s firm, which conducted the investigation, would produce a written report, but that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell asked Wilkinson to present her findings to him orally instead.
The investigation found a pervasive culture of sexual harassment and mistreatment of female employees of the team, confirming reports that first emerged when former employees spoke to The Washington Post in 2020. The NFL fined the team $10 million and Snyder temporarily ceded day-to-day control of the franchise to his wife,Tanya.
The league claimed when issuing its punishment that none of those known to have mistreated women was still employed by the team, but former employee Tiffani Johnston contradicted that claim Thursday when she told Congress that Snyder sexually harassed her. Snyder denied Johnston’s allegations, calling them “outright lies.” The NFL said it would lookinto that new allegation.
Bengals
Tight end C.J. Uzomah missed a second day of practice due to a knee injury suffered in the AFC championship. Offensive lineman Jackson Carman has a sore back and also sat out Friday as the Bengals practiced for a second day in the indoor bubble at the University of Cincinnati because of bad weather, according to a pool report.
Bears
Chicago hired James Rowe as defensive backs coach. Rowe is the latest assistant to follow new coach Matt Eberflus from Indianapolis to Chicago after coaching the Colts cornerbacks this past season. The list includes defensive coordinator Alan Williams, linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi and assistant defensive backs coach David Overstreet II.