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While the NFL and the Commanders await the results of the second investigation regarding owner Daniel Snyder, there is a fundamental disagreement over the penalty imposed following the first investigation.
In a special issue of #PFTPM on Thursday, Holland & Knight Attorney John Brownlee, outside counsel for the Commanders, was asked when the restrictions on Snyder, imposed on July 1, 2021, would end. Brownlee said they ended in late 2021.
“Well, it ended on November first,” Brownlee said. “Now, [Snyder] was able to go to all the games and I believe he even went to the games during that time but there were other restrictions on going out to the facility and things like that he didn’t do because of this sanction that was imposed by the NFL. . . As the first of November came and went, he could do as he pleased. There were no restrictions. That being said, I still think because of everything that was going on, they agreed that it was in the team’s best interest not to do certain things.”
The statement contradicts statements made by Commissioner Roger Goodell just earlier this month. When PFT reached out to the league office Thursday for comment on Brownlee’s allegation, the NFL referred us to the fact that Goodell said on Oct. 18 of Snyder’s status, “He hasn’t changed. Nothing has changed.”
In late March 2022, Goodell said that “Dan Snyder was not involved in day-to-day operations” and that Goodell “[doesn’t] believe he was even at the facility.” Three months later, in testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Goodell said, “To the best of my knowledge [Snyder] was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the Commanders.”
While Brownlee didn’t specifically say that Snyder has returned to his previous role, Brownlee did make it clear that the team estimates that Snyder has been able to do so for almost a year. This characterization fits with the league’s consistent position that Snyder remains subject to restrictions imposed by the league.
Brownlee added that since November 1 of last year, Snyder has restricted certain activities “at his own discretion.”
“Obviously in collusion with Tanya, I think at the end of the day, listen, these are two people who love this team, who love the league,” Brownlee said. “You’ve been part of it for a long time. They love the community, they want to win. And yet he realizes that with everything that’s going on, he can be a distraction for the players and the owners. And he doesn’t want that because he cares too much about her. And so he withdrew and he does, but he did it voluntarily.”
The league would say otherwise. The league said otherwise. The ongoing conflict only adds another layer of confusion to an odd situation for the NFL and the Commanders.