NFL has no plans to release more details from Washington Football Team investigation

By CNN Newsource

Published October 13, 2021 9:29 AM

By Wayne Sterling, CNN

Despite calls to disclose the full results of the independent investigation into the Washington Football Team’s workplace culture, National Football League spokesperson Brian McCarthy told CNN on Wednesday that more details will not be released due to the confidentiality element of the investigation.

In July, the league fined Washington $10 million following the conclusion of the investigation that found the club’s work environment was “highly unprofessional,” especially for women.

The NFL said: “That review is complete and we will not be providing more details.”

On Tuesday, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) said it planned on requesting that the league make the full finding of the investigation public; attorneys representing 40 former employees of the Washington Football Team and former NFL cheerleaders also called for full disclosure.

Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, attorneys representing the 40 former employees of the Washington Football Team, said in a statement: “If the NFL felt it appropriate to release these offensive emails from Jon Gruden, which it obtained during its investigation into the Washington Football Team, it must also release the findings related to the actual target of that investigation.”

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden used racially insensitive language to describe NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith in a 2011 email.

On Monday, the New York Times reported that it reviewed more emails and found that Gruden, who would later resign from the team, denounced women being employed as on-field officials, a team drafting an openly gay player, and the tolerance for national anthem protesters.

“During the course of the review of workplace misconduct at the Washington Football Team that was completed this summer, the league was informed of the existence of emails that raised issues beyond the scope of that investigation,” the NFL said.

“Over the past few months, at the Commissioner’s direction, senior NFL executives reviewed the content of more than 650,000 emails, including the Gruden emails which were sent to a then Washington Football Team employee. Last week, the executives presented a summary of that review to the Commissioner and shared with Raiders executives emails pertaining to Coach Gruden.

“The league had actively been awaiting for the team to review them with Gruden. Gruden has since resigned.”

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Prior to resigning, Gruden said to reporters: “All I can say is that I’m not a racist. I can’t tell you how sick I am. I apologize again to De Smith, but I feel good about who I am and what I’ve done my entire life. I apologize for the insensitive remarks. I had no racial intentions with those remarks at all.”

The NFL said it did not release any emails “during this process.”