By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. House of Representatives panel said on Wednesday it will issue a subpoena to Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder for a committee deposition after he refused to testify at a hearing into his NFL team’s workplace culture.
The Committee on Oversight and Reform earlier this month asked Snyder and National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell to appear for the hearing as part of its investigation into allegations regarding a hostile workplace culture at the Commanders.
“Mr. Snyder’s refusal to testify sends a clear signal that he is more concerned about protecting himself than coming clean to the American public,” said U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, the chairwoman of the committee.
“If the NFL is unwilling to hold Mr. Snyder accountable, then I am prepared to do so,” Maloney said in the hearing on Wednesday.
The hearing aimed to “examine the NFL’s handling of allegations of workplace misconduct, the NFL’s role in setting and enforcing standards across the League,” the panel said in a statement.
Goodell testified at the hearing virtually.
Last year, the NFL fined the team $10 million after an independent counsel review found the workplace demonstrated “a general lack of respect” toward women.
In announcing the fine, the NFL said: “Bullying and intimidation frequently took place and many described the culture as one of fear, and numerous female employees reported having experienced sexual harassment.”
Last week, Snyder’s attorney, Karen Patton Seymour, outlined several reasons why he would not attend the hearing in a letter to the chairs of the Committee on Oversight and Reform and Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, including that Snyder would be out of the country on “long-standing” team business.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
