New on Sports Illustrated: Report: Dan and Tanya Snyder Send Email to Team Employees, Promise Positive Change

In an email reportedly sent to team employees, the Snyders pledged to make improvements to Washington's workplace culture: "Clearly, there is work to be done."

One day after The Washington Post reported a culture of sexual harassment and verbal abuse within the Washington NFL franchise, team owners Dan and Tanya Snyder have sent an email addressing the accusations to team employees, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The email began with an apology, followed by the Snyders explaining that some of the issues raised in The Post's report were already addressed by the organization, while others were only brought to management's attention more recently.

"The actions in the story have no place in our franchise or in society. As you may be aware, when the past issues outlined in the article were initially brought to our attention, they were addressed at the time. However, some of these issues were brought forth only in the last few days and we have subsequently made changes and addressed them as well."

Following that explanation, the Snyders acknowledged the need for decisive change: "Clearly, there is work to be done to build a better organizational culture. We need to get better and the time is now."

In The Post's report, 15 female employees accused former colleagues of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. Though Dan Snyder was not directly accused of behaving inappropriately toward female employees, he was held responsible for allowing a workplace culture that tolerated routine acts of unwanted sexual advances and other forms of harassment.

Though no specific steps toward improving the situation were mentioned in the email, the Snyders expressed a desire to hear more from their employees about how to make the situation better.

"To create the culture we all want, we need your help," the Snyders said. "We want you to be a part of this process. As we go forward, you will hear more from our leadership team in the near future about this action plan."

July 18, 2020 at 05:11AM
Report: Dan and Tanya Snyder Send Email to Team Employees, Promise Positive Change