A New Start! (the Reboot) The Front Office, Ownership, & Coaching Staff Thread

[profusion]

Here is a summary explaining the congressional subpoena process. It's based on a newspaper article that discusses it in the context of political stuff we don't get into here, but the procedural points are relevant to this topic.

In short:

• The Supreme Court has upheld Congress' power to issue subpoenas for "legitimate legislative purposes." This doesn't include law enforcement or political gain.
• A majority of either House can vote someone as in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena.
• The sergeant-at-arms can arrest and detain those found in contempt of Congress, but this hasn't been done in almost a century.
• Congress can ask the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to bring criminal charges against a witness who refuses to appear.

Doubtful anything happens to Dan if he ignores this, as it would take a bigger group than just this committee to bring forth any consequences.

Edited June 28, 2022 by profusion

[Voice_of_Reason]

2 hours ago, Always A Commander Never A Captain said:

Wait wait wait...Dan Snyder is in the Mediterranean so he can dodge the subpoena? Can congress please keep this up forever? It's going to be so much harder for Snyder to meddle and infect the team when he's across an ocean.

The telephone was invented a long time ago. Just saying.  

[NickyJ]

I posted this picture in another thread, but it got me thinking. It's amazing that Doug Williams was handpicked by Bruce Allen 8 years ago, put through the meat grinder multiple times, and has absolutely NOTHING to do with any of the team's problems so far. Not a word from anyone about him, not a word from him about anyone.

 

If there's a nuclear apocalypse in the near future, the first person I'm recruiting to my camp is Doug Williams. This dude is a professional at survival.

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by NickyJ

[Voice_of_Reason]

1 hour ago, profusion said:

Here is a very good article explaining the congressional subpoena process: 

I would suggest editing the article link out of your post.  It’s a good article, I summarized it before but it wanders really really close to the “No politics in the stadium” line if it doesn’t cross it.

 

i summarized it a few months ago and let folks know they could search for it.

 

Just my $.02.  I know you’re not trying to use it in a political context at all.  But the article is political. So I erred on the side of caution.

[SkinsFTW]

Congress better have somebody checking for people trying to enter the building with milk jugs.

[Mrshadow008]

11 minutes ago, SkinsFTW said:

Congress better have somebody checking for people trying to enter the building with milk jugs.

Lol reminds me of Batman Vs Superman and Lex Luthor leaves “Granny’s Peach Tea” at the Congress woman’s seat before the hearing. 

[88Comrade2000]

I think those you hoping all this leads to Dan being gone; are just having false hope.

 

Whatever additional comes out; the nfl will cover it up. They don’t want set the precedent because each one of them has stuff they don’t want known.

 

The only thing that may get the owners ti vote Dan out; is if he’s costing them to much money. Even then, it will take years because Dan will tie this up in litigation.

 

 

As far as just focusing on the team; well Dan’s problems are affecting the team. The good players don’t want to come here. Our own players, will be looking to leave.  After 4,5 years they will want to leave. Even if they get franchised for 2 years; they will look to leave. As more players come due for new contracts; you will see that.  Also, Dan probably won’t have that money to sign free agents like he use to.

[Mrshadow008]

44 minutes ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

I think those you hoping all this leads to Dan being gone; are just having false hope.

 

Whatever additional comes out; the nfl will cover it up. They don’t want set the precedent because each one of them has stuff they don’t want known.

 

The only thing that may get the owners ti vote Dan out; is if he’s costing them to much money. Even then, it will take years because Dan will tie this up in litigation.

 

 

As far as just focusing on the team; well Dan’s problems are affecting the team. The good players don’t want to come here. Our own players, will be looking to leave.  After 4,5 years they will want to leave. Even if they get franchised for 2 years; they will look to leave. As more players come due for new contracts; you will see that.  Also, Dan probably won’t have that money to sign free agents like he use to.

I agree and disagree. If there was a smoking gun audio/video something along those lines he’d be done precedent or not. As of right now all you have is allegations by former employees. Whether you believe the accusations or not it’s hearsay. I agree with you about the money part but in a different way. If the anti trust exemption ever became legitimately threatened because of Dan specifically then that might do it. The ? Though would be how viable is that threat? People have threatened to revoke it before only for it to go nowhere. 

[88Comrade2000]

5 hours ago, Mrshadow008 said:

I agree and disagree. If there was a smoking gun audio/video something along those lines he’d be done precedent or not. As of right now all you have is allegations by former employees. Whether you believe the accusations or not it’s hearsay. I agree with you about the money part but in a different way. If the anti trust exemption ever became legitimately threatened because of Dan specifically then that might do it. The ? Though would be how viable is that threat? People have threatened to revoke it before only for it to go nowhere. 

Well, losing the anti-trust would be money related. The nfl’s anti- trust exemption is for tv contracts, right? Congress let’s the nfl negotiate a common contract; otherwise it would be whatever the teams could do locally.

[Mrshadow008]

16 minutes ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

Well, losing the anti-trust would be money related. The nfl’s anti- trust exemption is for tv contracts, right? Congress let’s the nfl negotiate a common contract; otherwise it would be whatever the teams could do locally.

Correct. So if the NFL lost the exemption it would cost billions. It allows them to essentially be a monopoly when negotiating national tv deals for the entire league and then spreading the money out to each team. without the exemption each individual team would have to be responsible for negotiating their own regional tv deals. thats great for someone like dallas but someone like Jacksonville would struggle. Also doing that would likely end up in huge gaps in talent level around the league because some teams could afford to pay while others cant afford to pay top $

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

10 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

The telephone was invented a long time ago. Just saying.  

 

If there's one thing we found out about Snyder's actions at team facilities. His physical presence encouraged a level of toxicity that likely would not have existed otherwise.

 

Him hiding on another continent is beneficial.

[SkinsFTW]

It would be kind of funny if he stays on the run on his boat overseas and doesn't come back. 

 

20 years ago people tracked his airplane guessing which free agents he was going to be signing.

 

Now days people track his boat to guess which country he's going to try to hide out in next. 

 

Progress!!!

[Voice_of_Reason]

6 hours ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

As far as just focusing on the team; well Dan’s problems are affecting the team. The good players don’t want to come here. Our own players, will be looking to leave.  After 4,5 years they will want to leave. Even if they get franchised for 2 years; they will look to leave. As more players come due for new contracts; you will see that.  Also, Dan probably won’t have that money to sign free agents like he use to.

The players have never had a problem with Dan.  Quite the contrary. 
 

They have a problem with the constant swirl or controversy.

 

If nothing cones of these allegations and Dan is here, my hope is this noise will stop. I doubt that’s going to be allowed to happen.  But if the noise stops and the team wins a bit, there will be new fans that migrate to the team. 
 

Players care more about the other players, coaches and money.  Ron is extremely well respected.  
 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

By Thom Loverro - - Monday, June 27, 2022

 

Dan Snyder has consumed the Washington football franchise. There is no team. No Commanders. We certainly know the Redskins don’t exist anymore. Snyder might as well have changed his organization’s name to the Washington Enrons.

The billionaire’s mug has become the face of his franchise, in the same way that the Edvard Munch mask has become the iconic face of the  slasher film series “Scream.”

 

I would say Snyder is larger than life, but the truth is he is lower, with seemingly no bottom.

 

---

It is all about Snyder now — last week’s congressional hearing on the allegations leveled against the franchise offered up nearly three hours of more embarrassing charges and salacious details. Meanwhile, the owner’s minions were photographed partying on a yacht docked in Cannes, France.

Snyder did not appear to be in the shot. Maybe he’s invisible to cameras and mirrors now?

 

Beyond what was discussed in the House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing, there were the documents released by the panel that showed despicable behavior, including the allegations by former Chief Operating Officer David Pauken. Pauken told the committee that Snyder, angry over a real estate deal, sought some petty revenge against future Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner by having Pauken pour sour milk on the carpet of the Lerner’s private suite at Ghost Town Field.

Snyder has been pouring sour milk on Washington fans since he bought the team in 1999.

But the most damning revelation was that Snyder conducted a “shadow investigation” while the NFL had Beth Wilkinson looking into sexual misconduct allegations against the organization and that Snyder compiled a “dossier” that targeted former employees, journalists and attorneys that he deemed enemies. 

 

According to the testimony, Snyder’s parallel “investigation” included the harassment and intimidation of women who would be questioned in the Wilkinson probe. Wilkinson’s probe began with the 15 women who spoke to the Washington Post, which initially broke the story about the misconduct allegations, and grew to more than 40 in a short amount of time.

Snyder and his hired sycophants have maintained that the focus of all this attention involved incidents that happened years ago. But the “shadow investigation” and the intimidation campaign, which included visits from private investigators, happened within the last two years — specifically, since Jan. 2, 2020, the day coach Ron Rivera was hired.

 

Rivera tried to wash the slime off by posting a tone-deaf statement a few hours after last week’s hearing, in an attempt to distance himself from the embarrassment of the day. “These investigations into inappropriate workplace issues pre-date my employment,” he wrote. 

Does that include the harassment campaign and “shadow investigation” that happened on Rivera’s watch?

What’s going to be his defense for that? That the most powerful person in the building besides Snyder didn’t know? 

 

There is no separation from the slime. Snyder is all-consuming. He has consumed the campaign for a new stadium, his presence poisoning plans.

It certainly torpedoed the lofty $1 billion Virginia stadium proposal. And while there was really no chance for a new stadium in the District, on the day of the House hearing, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson sent a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser outlining his support for getting the RFK property from the federal government — but only if it wasn’t used for a professional sports facility.

Last month, the Washington Post wrote an editorial opposing Virginia’s plans to subsidize a new stadium for the team. It argued against using public money to help a “multibillionaire” build a new stadium, but it also mentioned the fact that Snyder “is embroiled in investigations of sexual misconduct and financial improprieties.”

 

Less than three weeks later, the Post felt compelled to write yet another editorial opposing public funding for the stadium — this one directly targeting Snyder. “Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder has done an excellent job demonstrating why regional leaders should not use taxpayer funds to subsidize a new team stadium,” the editorial stated.

There hasn’t been an owner in this city who has been this toxic since George Preston Marshall, whose racist policies nearly kept his football team out of the new D.C. Stadium in 1961.

 

One of the most important duties of an NFL owner, in the eyes of the other billionaires in the club, is to secure the funding and support for new stadiums. 

Washington should be one of the league’s marquee franchises, one of its most powerful lobbying tools on Capitol Hill. Other owners want members of Congress coming to the Washington franchise’s building, taking seats there and watching the NFL in action — not the other way around. 

The league and fellow owners are losing money with Snyder as the owner of this football team.

Snyder’s lawyer told the House committee that the boss is out of the country and unavailable for questioning this week, so it remains to be seen how the plan to subpoena Snyder will play out. His refusal to appear last week — even via Zoom as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did — made his absence loom large. 

He dwarfs everything associated with this football team. He is a black hole, consuming an NFL franchise whole. Nothing can escape.

 

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jun/27/loverro-no-more-franchise-no-more-team-only-snyder/

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

 

In the statement, the committee spokesperson said that "while the Committee has been, and remains, willing to consider reasonable accommodations requested by witnesses, we will not tolerate attempts to evade service of a duly authorized subpoena or seek special treatment not afforded to other witnesses who testified in this matter."

In the "vast majority" of cases, congressional subpoenas are served to and accepted by a subject's lawyer electronically, according to Dave Rapallo, Georgetown University's Federal Legislation Clinic director and the Democratic staff director of the House Oversight Committee from 2011 to 2021. He told ESPN the committee also can have U.S. Marshals serve a subpoena in person at locations such as a subject's home or place of work.

"It's not totally unprecedented but it's rare because it's usually unnecessary," Rapallo said of needing marshals to serve a subpoena in person. "Most lawyers accept the subpoena electronically."

Rapallo said Snyder can comply with the subpoena and be deposed by the committee's investigators or he could plead the Fifth Amendment, which protects against self-incrimination. Other options include his attorneys filing a lawsuit in federal court challenging the subpoena. Rapallo added the committee also could decide to hold Snyder in contempt if he does not accept or comply with the subpoena.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

18 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

Rivera tried to wash the slime off by posting a tone-deaf statement a few hours after last week’s hearing, in an attempt to distance himself from the embarrassment of the day. “These investigations into inappropriate workplace issues pre-date my employment,” he wrote. 

Does that include the harassment campaign and “shadow investigation” that happened on Rivera’s watch?

What’s going to be his defense for that? That the most powerful person in the building besides Snyder didn’t know? 

Thom is per usual, real extra, with this piece right here.

 

Why would Rivera know about the shadow investigations?  If anything, I'd imagine he tries to distance himself from all of this stuff.  It makes very little sense that he would be a part of that or even know about it.

[Skinsinparadise]

1 minute ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Thom is per usual, real extra, with this piece right here.

 

Why would Rivera know about the shadow investigations?  If anything, I'd imagine he tries to distance himself from all of this stuff.  It makes very little sense that he would be a part of that or even know about it.

 

Agree, I'd have left Rivera out.  Rivera is a rare beacon of integrity for that organization. 

[Conn]

1 hour ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

Agree, I'd have left Rivera out.  Rivera is a rare beacon of integrity for that organization. 

I think it drives the point home that regardless of good intentions, you cannot separate the football side from the corruption of the Snyder drama, even with a principled man like Rivera at the helm. You just can’t. Rivera releasing that statement, even if true, was ITSELF a tool of Snyder. Of course Rivera wouldn’t be involved or know about the “shadow investigation” or witness intimidation—but the very fact it happened while he was here, after Snyder told him it was all in the past and things were changing (and using Rivera as a figurehead representing that change to the world)…that should disgust him. And maybe it does, and of course he can’t really say that in a statement. Which is why releasing the statement at all was acting as a tool for Snyder, proving that you cannot separate football from the rest. It’s impossible, even with Rivera being a good man, for him to avoid being tainted by it all. 

[Voice_of_Reason]

1 hour ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Thom is per usual, real extra, with this piece right here.

 

Why would Rivera know about the shadow investigations?  If anything, I'd imagine he tries to distance himself from all of this stuff.  It makes very little sense that he would be a part of that or even know about it.

 

1 hour ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

Agree, I'd have left Rivera out.  Rivera is a rare beacon of integrity for that organization. 

 

Thom has been going in on Rivera since the day he was hired.  His go-to line about Rivera is (and I get that it's actually true) he only has 3 winning seasons. He's not a Rivera fan, and he's repeatedly taken shots at him for 2 years.

 

What Thom is stating that Dan IS the franchise is exactly what I posted a few days ago, I can separate the two.  At least I can NOW. 

 

That was impossible with him and Vinny.  Dan was clearly running the show in all respects.  Gibbs gave us somewhat of a reprieve, but you know Dan was still involved.

 

With Shanny/Bruce, it was clear after like 3 weeks Dan was involved when we traded for McNabb. And it was clear Bruce was, in a lot of ways, Dan's henchman.  Though the difference between Vinny and Bruce is Bruce had agency.   He could not only screw things up on Dan's behalf, but he could also screw things up on his own.

 

Now?  At least based on the reporting, the football side is being run by Ron, and Ron only.  And all of the moves have been in-line with what Ron would do, and not necessarily what Dan would do.  So I'm going with that until there is at least a shred of reporting or evidence to the contrary, and then I'll probably turn on a dime. 

 

I don't think Ron knew anything about the investigation.  I bet he never asks about it, and instructs folks not to tell him about it.  He has nothing to do with anything about it.  He's not sending lawyers and investigators to cheerleaders houses.  And I'm sure the first time he found out about it was when he read it in the Post. 

 

I think, in this case, I also think Jason Wright probably also had no idea.  I am sure Dan is doing the Dan thing with his lawyers.  There is no reason to involve anybody within the team on any of this.  In fact, it might be the ONE thing Dan has done right: keep as much of this out of the building as possible so everybody there has plausible deniability.  (And more likely, actual deniability.) 

 

But Thom is going to Thom.  For whatever reason, he seems to really dislike Ron.  He HATES Jack because their politics don't align. 

 

At different times I've found Thom entertaining.  But he's gone down the path that I really detest at the moment.  I think you CAN separate the team from Dan.  You can root for the players on the team, you can root for the team to win, you can follow the player transactions, and mostly (we'll leave Dan being broke or putting Ron on a budget aside for a moment) have confidence those are football decisions at this point. 

 

That's my point of view, which is not everybody's point of view.   

[Voice_of_Reason]

5 minutes ago, Conn said:

that should disgust him. And maybe it does, and of course he can’t really say that in a statement. Which is why releasing the statement at all was acting as a tool for Snyder, proving that you cannot separate football from the rest. It’s impossible, even with Rivera being a good man, for him to avoid being tainted by it all. 

I'm sure it disgusts him and I'm sure that if he had known half of this before he took the job, he wouldn't have taken the job.

 

But as I said above, I CAN separate football from Dan.  I realize Dan is somewhat all-consuming.  But I also think that it wasn't always this way.  There was always a hum of dysfunction.  

 

But nothing like this swirl.  It's just one thing after the other after the other.  And the way that Dan has handled this whole ordeal has been absolutely aborent, and the worst side-effect is he's allowed it to drag on for over a year.  

 

It's what I said earlier, if I was advising Dan, I would advise him to settle everything.  Go to Congress and then basically take the 5th at every opportunity.  What are they going to do, keep subpoenaing him over and over?  Go once, get it over with.  Say nothing.

 

Strike a deal with Lisa Banks.  I'm convinced she's in it for the money, and a nice side effect would be to get rid of Dan.  Find a way to settle with her and her clients out of court, and make it go away.  (I'm sure they will scream hush-money.  But if you're going after a settlement, then what's the difference?)

 

Come out with a statement taking responsibility, and have Roger suspend him for a year.  Official suspension.

 

If he did that when the Wilkinson report was concluded, his suspension would be almost over.  

 

By fighting the battle at every single front, they've allowed the story to just keep multiplying and morphing, and staying in the public eye.  It's been a disaster.  Dan wants to be proven innocent.  He wants to keep what happened out of the public record.  But he's been absolutely stupid because it is already in the public record, and he's already been convicted by the court of public opinion.  So the best thing to do, for him, would be to make it all go away.  Take responsibility (which he will never do), settle accounts with any person who feels aggrieved, appear in Congress, and then go away for a while.  And REALLY go away.  Don't even come to the games.  Just stay entirely away.  

 

A year will pass in a flash and we'll be back to the normal "hum" and the rest of this stuff could be in the rear view mirror.  

 

I fully acknowledge this is a pipe dream because Dan is too arrogant, self unaware and lacks the self confidence to do any of this. But it would be the fastest way to get it taken care of.  (Minus the league voting him out, which would be the most ideal situation.)

[woodpecker]

Rivera says in his statement that the culture has been fixed. I think Loverros point is that obviously it hasn’t. And I agree with that. I got the impression that Rivera was told to make this statement. You can argue that improvements have been made to the culture, but to say the box has been checked off is ridiculous. And if Rivera actually did put the statement out on his own, then why should we have to keep him out of it when he has inserted himself into it? I still like Ron as a coach, but I found his statement somewhat insulting. It’s all because of Snyder, so if folks want to give him a pass, that’s fine too. It’s sad watching another good football man’s reputation being infected by the stench of Snyder.

[Bifflog]

19 minutes ago, woodpecker said:

Rivera says in his statement that the culture has been fixed. I think Loverros point is that obviously it hasn’t. And I agree with that. I got the impression that Rivera was told to make this statement. You can argue that improvements have been made to the culture, but to say the box has been checked off is ridiculous. And if Rivera actually did put the statement out on his own, then why should we have to keep him out of it when he has inserted himself into it? I still like Ron as a coach, but I found his statement somewhat insulting. It’s all because of Snyder, so if folks want to give him a pass, that’s fine too. It’s sad watching another good football man’s reputation being infected by the stench of Snyder.

 

Statement wasn't for you, and he doesn't care that he's catching the heat for it, it's by design.

 

He's gonna try, even when people would rather everyone associated with the team lie down and die, not the kind of guy he is.  He's gonna try to motivate the people in the building.  He's gonna praise them.

[NickyJ]

28 minutes ago, woodpecker said:

Rivera says in his statement that the culture has been fixed. I think Loverros point is that obviously it hasn’t. And I agree with that. I got the impression that Rivera was told to make this statement. You can argue that improvements have been made to the culture, but to say the box has been checked off is ridiculous. And if Rivera actually did put the statement out on his own, then why should we have to keep him out of it when he has inserted himself into it? I still like Ron as a coach, but I found his statement somewhat insulting. It’s all because of Snyder, so if folks want to give him a pass, that’s fine too. It’s sad watching another good football man’s reputation being infected by the stench of Snyder.

Quoting Rivera's statement:
 

Quote

“Throughout the fall of 2020 the organization saw many new standards put in place and protocols for employees to voice and address any issues, as well as putting an NFC East Division winning football team on the field. When the Wilkinson report was completed in the Spring of 2021 on behalf of the NFL, our organization had already put into place or was in the process of implementing the suggestions mentioned in the report.

 

“These investigations into inappropriate workplace issues pre-dates my employment,” he said. “I can not change the past, but I would hope our fans, the NFL and Congress can see that we are doing everything in our power to never repeat those workplace issues. And know that our employees are respected, valued and can be heard.”

 

Rivera never said that Dan stopped being human garbage. Rivera said that after he took over the team, he (Rivera) stopped the sexual harassment that was occurring by team employees. The employees have been dealt with. We have seen nothing to prove that wrong. The statement was Rivera washing his and his employees' hands of anything that comes from the top. The only top that's left is Dan and Jason Wright. Jason Wright is as squeaky clean as a politician, and Rivera isn't responsible for Dan.

Edited June 28, 2022 by NickyJ

[88Comrade2000]

As long as Dan owns the team, the culture will never change.  You can put makeup on it- Rivera; to cover things up but behind the scenes; It's still Dan's ****show.    Ron can only control the football side but everything else is Dan's doing.