Controversial owner puts Washington Commanders up for sale

They are not the first club owners to have a scandal. They won’t be the last either. But even in the American NFL’s gallery of shame, Dan and Tanya Snyder take the cake.

The couple who own the Washington Commanders football team have been accused of transgressive behavior, sexual harassment and racism for years.

Dan Snyder is being investigated by multiple prosecutors, a congressional special committee and the NFL. Even within the NFL team owners meeting, there were suggestions that he be removed from their ranks.

Snyder shrugged and sat down quietly. Until wednesday. In a press release, Dan and Tanya Snyder said they had hired a law firm to investigate the Commanders’ sale.

In other words, Washington is for sale. Those who want to buy the organization are expected to bring in at least $5.5 billion, more than has ever been paid for an NFL club.

The Washington Redskins were once an NFL powerhouse. Particularly in the 1980s, the Redskins were considered one of the strongest teams in the league, having won three Super Bowls (1982, 1988 and 1991).

This all happened with Jack Kent Cooke as owner. The Canadian multimillionaire who also owned the Los Angeles Lakers basketball club and the Los Angeles Kings ice hockey club. When Kent Cooke died in 1997 at the age of 84, a Dan Snyder was eager to get back into action.

In 1999, Snyder paid $800 million for club and stadium stock. Because he did it with borrowed money, Snyder then sold 35% of the shares, only to buy out that minority stake in 2021 for another $800 million.

In five years, he increased the club’s annual income from 100 million euros to 245 million euros. A lot, one might say. But this was done to the detriment of the team and especially the supporters.

Sportingly, there was not much to celebrate under Snyder. The best club of the past rarely reached the play-offs and never went beyond the first round. Loyal fans noticed that the prices for tickets, parking and refreshments increased enormously and they increasingly stayed at home.

Snyder even went so far as to sue fans who were unable to pay their subscriptions due to the financial crisis. And although Snyder has been scrambling for years with plans for a new stadium, the old one is now notorious for its overdue maintenance.

For example, in 2021, a sewer pipe burst from the washroom, forcing several fans to take cover in a hurry:

The proverbial straw, however, was a series of articles in The Washington Post in which more than 40 women shared their stories of sexual harassment and discrimination by Snyder and his immediate colleagues.

A commission headed by attorney Beth Wilkinson concluded in July 2021 after an investigation that sexual misconduct, bullying, and harassment were rampant in Snyder’s circles.

Remarkably, this investigation cost the coach of another team. Emails between Washington employees and then-Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden turned out to be laced with racist and homophobic swear words. Gruden was fired on the spot.

And Snyder? He got off with a $10 million fine imposed by the NFL. Snyder promised to leave day-to-day management to someone else and soon after appointed his wife Tanya as the new manager.

And then there was the matter of the name change. For decades, Native Americans protested the insulting name Redskins, but it wasn’t until the Black Lives Matter movement rocked the United States that their grievances were truly heard.

The pressure on the Redskins’ management at the time increased significantly, but owner Snyder didn’t want to hear about it for a long time. It did not circulate until the major corporate sponsors of the club moved.

FedEx’s role in this was important. This company – and as the stadium’s namesake sponsor – announced that they would stop financially supporting the club if the Redskins term was not waived.

In the end, the Snyders gave in. As of 2020, the club became the Washington Football Team and since that summer the club has been known under the new name Washington Commanders.

But the suspicion remains that the change was implemented with some reluctance. Last October, Tanya Snyder added fuel to the fire by ending a rally honoring the club’s longtime heroes with the rallying cry “Hail to the Redskins.” And beat Green Bay!

A second NFL investigation is still ongoing into the transgressive behavior of Snyder and those around him and Snyder also had to answer before a congressional committee for his conduct and for suspicion of financial fraud.

At the club owners’ last meeting in mid-October, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay even called for Snyder to be removed from ownership. This would require the consent of 24 of the 32 owners and it turned out to be an illusion.

And so Snyder is still in his place in Washington, much to the dismay of his own fans. “Sell the team,” he rang from the stands last week during the home game against the Green Bay Packers.

A match that unexpectedly ended in victory, so that the Commanders still have a (small) chance to participate in the play-offs. This may be an added incentive for wealthy candidates to rid Washington of the Snyders.

Incidentally, Snyder himself does not rule out the possibility that he will only sell a minority share. One thing is certain: his departure would be felt as a relief for many.