Roger Goodell says Dan Snyder's reported machinations 'didn't interfere' with NFL's investigation
Dan Snyder's reported attempts to prevent an NFL investigator from interviewing his sexual misconduct accuser were all for naught, according to Roger Goodell.
The Washington Football Team owner was reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday to have interfered with the NFL's investigation into his team via lawsuits, private investigators and more, with most of the effort centered around a woman he paid $1.6 million in a confidential settlement in 2009.
After the NFL's winter meetings on Wednesday, the league's commissioner told reporters he didn't believe Snyder had interfered with the work of investigator Beth Wilkinson, who was tasked with looking into the Washington organization.
Goodell's answer when asked about the Post report:
“We went through a very lengthy period of investigation and discussions. The one thing I can say with 100 percent assurance is that it didn’t interfere with the work that our investigator did. We were able to access all the people that she wanted to access, have multiple conversations with those people. There’s always a little bit of a tug and a pull with particularly lawyers and law firms. That’s something that I think we were able to overcome and make sure we came to the right conclusion.”
Unfortunately, we can only take Goodell's word on the investigation process because the NFL decided that Wilkinson would only reveal her findings via an oral presentation to the commissioner, rather than a written report.
The end result of the investigation a $10 million fine for the Washington Football Team and Snyder's wife taking day-to-day operations for the team, plus the fall of Jon Gruden.
Will report on NFL's Washington investigation be released?
The NFL has faced widespread calls for an actual report on Washington's workplace misconduct, but Goodell has insisted Snyder was "held accountable" and claiming the findings can't be released because he wants to protect the anonymity of those who came forward.
Quite a few of Washington's accusers are among those calling for the report to be released, however. The matter has also reached Congress, where one committee now wants all evidence of Snyder's alleged interference in addition to other materials from the investigation.