ESPN’s lengthy article on Wednesday relating Jon Gruden’s emails to Daniel Snyder’s downfall contained a key revelation in the events leading up to the league’s first punishment on July 1, 2021.
According to the ESPN article, a June 2021 meeting between Snyder’s attorneys and select owners and executives included a series of slides.
“What was presented was not a defense against any of this [attorney Beth] Wilkinson’s findings against Snyder; It was a series of screenshots of potentially embarrassing emails and text messages from several top executives, including [Commissioner Roger] Goodell’s first lieutenant, [Jeff] Pash,” the article explains. “The rationale, according to a firsthand source, was to argue the hypocrisy of the league officials who were judging Snyder. The tactic was so ruthless that some lawyers felt uncomfortable. While none of the content was sexist, anti-gay, or graphic, the signal was clear: if Goodell did not do what Snyder wanted regarding the Wilkinson report and the punishment, these emails and texts would leak out.”
According to ESPN, the presentation became known in league circles as “Blackmail PowerPoint.”
According to the ESPN article, it worked: “Some top NFL executives had talked Goodell into giving Snyder a harsh and lengthy sentence.” But as the time to announce Snyder’s sentence neared, Goodell began to reconsider .”
Ultimately, the league buried the Wilkinson report and announced the sanctions on July 1, 2021, on a Thursday afternoon ahead of a July 4th bank holiday. The word “suspension” was never used.
Now that Snyder is ousted, it remains to be seen if anyone will eventually leak information from the so-called “Blackmail PowerPoint” to the media. Would it surprise anyone if that was Snyder’s parting gift to the league?