Dan Snyder’s attorney reasserted on Monday that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform is refusing to accommodate Snyder ahead of Wednesday’s key hearing regarding the Commanders’ alleged toxic workplace environment.
In a letter obtained by NBC Sports Washington and addressed to Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, Karen Patton Seymour expressed her disappointment with the Committee’s choice to not work around a “longstanding business conflict” on Snyder’s calendar as well as with its offer to let Snyder join remotely. Seymour believes testifying remotely “would not sufficiently protect Mr. Snyder’s interest in having his counsel physically present with him,” since she would be unable to be alongside him due to her own “scheduling challenges.”
“The Committee’s insistence on holding a hearing on a single date that it chose, even at the expense of [Snyder’s] right to have his counsel present during testimony, both departs from my understanding of the approach taken with other congressional witnesses in similar circumstances and disregards my client’s due process rights,” Seymour wrote.
Snyder initially turned down the Committee’s invitation to testify last Wednesday and is scheduled to be in France during this Wednesday’s hearing, which will serve as the latest look into Washington’s culture during Snyder’s tenure as owner.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, on the other hand, accepted his invitation and is slated to appear virtually. Last Friday, the Committee urged Snyder to reconsider his stance in a different letter.
Seymour concluded her Monday letter by maintaining that “the Snyders and the Team remain fully willing to cooperate with the Committee, and are eager to share the cultural transformation undertaken by the Commanders if the Committee is interested in obtaining that information in a manner consistent with appropriate due process and fairness protections.”
A Committee spokesperson pushed back on that sentiment in a response to Seymour.
“If Mr. Snyder was truly committed to cooperating with the Committee’s investigation, he would have accepted the Committee’s invitation to testify about the Commanders’ toxic workplace culture,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“As the Chairwoman’s letter made clear, the Committee has been more than accommodating — even allowing Mr. Snyder to testify remotely from France. His refusal to testify sends an unmistakable signal that Mr. Snyder has something to hide and is afraid of coming clean to the American public and addressing major worker protection concerns facing the NFL. The Committee will not be deterred in its investigation to uncover the truth of workplace misconduct at the Washington Commanders.”
