One Washington Commanders participant believes change is required for the group amid the turmoil surrounding proprietor Dan Snyder.
Cornerback Benjamin St-Juste was drafted by the Commanders within the third spherical of the 2021 NFL Draft. Since arriving, he says he’s at all times observed the dangerous highlight surrounding the crew.
“It’s been a darkish cloud over our group,” St-Juste informed French-language paper Le Journal de Quebec – he’s from Montreal – as translated by 106.7 The Fan. “Each time there’s something good occurring on the pitch, one thing dangerous is occurring off it. It will give us nice power to have a recent begin and regain the arrogance of the followers.”
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Benjamin St-Juste of the Washington Commanders appears on throughout the Inexperienced Bay Packers recreation at FedEx Subject on Oct. 23, 2022, in Landover, Maryland.
(Mitchell Layton/Getty Pictures)
Snyder’s “darkish cloud” surrounds the investigation that was launched after The Washington Publish reported former staff claimed to have been sexually harassed throughout their time with the crew. An additional report had greater than 100 staff claiming Snyder had a poisonous office atmosphere the place girls felt discriminated towards and marginalized.
The newest pile on to the various issues surrounding the franchise got here from the District of Columbia Lawyer Common’s Workplace, which introduced a civil lawsuit towards the Commanders, Snyder, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday, alleging that the events colluded to “deceive” the general public on the investigation into the alleged poisonous office tradition.
COMMANDERS, NFL FACING LAWSUIT ALLEGING COLLUSION IN TOXIC WORKPLACE PROBE
Lawyer Common Karl A. Racine launched a prolonged assertion, accusing the NFL of “flip(ing) a blind eye to Snyder’s intensive efforts to silence or intimidate witnesses.”
“After public reporting revealed that sexual misconduct, harassment and misogyny ran rampant for many years on the crew, the defendants promised DC residents that the league was going to repair this poisonous tradition, together with by totally cooperating with an impartial investigation,” Racine wrote.
“That was all a lie. As a substitute, the NFL turned a blind eye to Snyder’s extensive efforts to silence or intimidate witnesses, and the NFL and Commanders entered right into a secret settlement that gave Snyder energy to veto the discharge of any outcomes.”
Anticipating this announcement from the lawyer common, the Commanders launched a press release on Wednesday making an attempt to make use of the current capturing of operating again Brian Robinson Jr. to retort no matter was coming from Racine.
Workforce co-owner Dan Snyder speaks throughout the announcement of the crew’s title change to the Washington Commanders at FedExField on Feb. 2, 2022, in Landover, Maryland.
(Rob Carr/Getty Pictures)
“Lower than three months in the past, a 23-year-old participant on our crew was shot a number of occasions, in broad daylight,” the statement began via ESPN. “Regardless of the out-of-control violent crime in DC, as we speak the Washington Commanders realized for the primary time on Twitter that the D.C. Lawyer Common shall be holding a press convention to ‘make a significant announcement’ associated to the group tomorrow.”
Robinson’s agent, Ryan Williams, was displeased by this.
“Up till an hour in the past, the Commanders dealt with the Brian Robinson state of affairs with a lot care, sincerity and sophistication,” Williams mentioned through Twitter. “And I used to be so grateful for all of it. Though I do know that there are some nice human in that constructing, whoever is hiding behind this assertion shouldn’t be certainly one of them.”
Due to these off-field state of affairs, St-Juste and his teammates have needed to see followers within the stands with paper baggage that learn, “Promote The Workforce,” on them.
That’s simply a few of the strain going through Snyder to promote the crew, with Indianapolis Colts proprietor Jim Irsay saying he believed “advantage” was discovered to noticeably think about voting Snyder out.
COMMANDERS’ DAN SNYDER HIRES BANK IN FIRST STEP TOWARD POSSIBLE TEAM SALE
The U.S. House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into the crew earlier this yr over Washington’s office tradition after an impartial overview, overseen by the league, prompted a $10 million wonderful, however didn’t embody a written report back to be launched to the general public.
Congress started investigating the crew in October 2021, when allegations of sexual harassment and office misconduct arose after then-Raiders head coach Jon Gruden stepped down following the leak of emails with then-Commanders crew President Bruce Allen.
Benjamin St-Juste of the Washington Commanders earlier than the Chicago Bears recreation at Soldier Subject on Oct. 13, 2022, in Chicago.
(Kevin Sabitus/Getty Pictures)
The lawmakers’ investigation discovered that Snyder performed a big function in fostering a poisonous work atmosphere and pointed to proof that urged Snyder impeded the NFL’s impartial probe into these allegations. Whereas Snyder refused to testify, Goodell did earlier than the U.S. Home Oversight Committee.
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Snyder took the primary steps to doubtlessly promoting his franchise, hiring Financial institution of America Securities to look into a possible sale. Since then, rumors that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and rap mogul Jay-Z could crew as much as buy the crew in a deal that’s anticipated to be greater than the $4.65 billion the Denver Broncos offered for in June.
Fox Information’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
