CNN
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Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder has denied allegations that he hired private investigators to investigate his NFL colleagues as well as league commissioner Roger Goodell.
Last week, ESPN, citing several unnamed owners and league and team sources, reported that the Commander’s owner “has directed his law firms to hire private investigators to investigate other owners — and Goodell.”
In a letter to all other NFL owners, Snyder stated, “This is obviously false and is intended to undermine the trust and goodwill between owners, which I take very seriously. I’ve never hired a private investigator to investigate an owner or the inspector. I have never directed or authorized my attorneys to hire a private investigator on my behalf for any such purpose. And I never would.
“Although we are all fierce competitors on the field, we are part of this organization because we love football, our teams and our fans. Having the privilege of owning a franchise in American sports is something I know none of us take for granted. Falsehoods and lies spread about any of our organizations are detrimental to our league, our players and our fans, and we simply cannot let them go unchallenged.”
Last year, following an internal investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson, the NFL fined the team $10 million, and Snyder handed control of the franchise’s day-to-day operations to his wife, Tanya Snyder. However, the NFL declined to publicly release its results, prompting a House Oversight Committee review in October.
Despite the change, ESPN claims current and former team leaders say Snyder “is still a lot more involved in running the club than most realize,” adding that he’s committed to taking over quarterback Carson Wentz from the Colts, while the sources questioned whether team president Jason Wright, who became the first black man in NFL history to hold the title, “has the true authority to fix the team.”
Snyder denied the ESPN report’s claims, saying in the letter: “It is particularly shameful for ESPN to belittle the very real accomplishments of our President Jason Wright, who ESPN claims was installed by the League at Commanders and has no power has to make real changes. I know you know this is wrong. Unfortunately, ESPN ignored our efforts to correct the many untruths in their article before it was published.”
After the Commanders’ 12-7 win over the Chicago Bears on Thursday night, Washington head coach Ron Rivera also denied the reports and said he was behind the decision to recruit Wentz.
“Everybody always wants to say I didn’t want anything to do with Carson, well, bullshit,” Rivera said.
“I’m the damn guy that pulled out the papers, looked at the analyses, looked at the tape…when we were in Indianapolis, okay? And that pisses me off because the young man doesn’t deserve to have that all the time.”
An ESPN spokesman told CNN in a statement the company stands by its coverage.
The NFL assigned Mary Jo White, former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to investigate workplace misconduct against Snyder earlier this year.