Former Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White, according to ESPN, wants to release the full report on the “sexual misconduct allegations and financial improprieties” against Commanders owner Dan Snyder, but that might not happen if Snyder and his legal team get their way.
Snyder wants to limit what’s released from the report and has lobbied the NFL, according to the outlet.
That aligns with a February story from The Washington Post that reported Snyder wanted to keep the report “confidential.”
It’s the latest twist to emerge surrounding the controversial owner as he and his wife, Tanya, appear poised to sell the Commanders.
An ownership group led by Josh Harris — who also owns the 76ers and Devils — entered into a purchase agreement with the Snyders after agreeing to buy the team in April, and the $6.05 billion deal is inching closer to completion.
In response to the latest ESPN reporting, a spokesperson from the Commanders said that it’s “completely false and a blatant fabrication by someone with no actual knowledge of this matter.”
An NFL spokesperson declined to comment, according to the outlet.
ESPN reported that White has appeared to reach the final stages of her report — which included the investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Snyder, dating to 2009 — and held the final interviews with witnesses recently to prompt the response from Snyder and his legal team.
“His odds of burying the report are the same as his odds of trading for Patrick Mahomes,” an anonymous ESPN source said. “He can try to not sell the team, but that isn’t a real option.”
Per ESPN, it seems unlikely that Snyder — who has owned the franchise since 1999 — could link the release of the full White report to not selling the team.
White has also investigated alleged financial improprieties, and the investigation by the former U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York is the second one into Snyder.
The first, which was conducted by Beth Wilkinson, resulted in the Commanders being fined $10 million and Snyder taking a step back from day-to-day team operations.
“If the findings that are released are the complete findings, drafted by Mary Jo White and not the league, that’s one thing,” Lisa Banks, who reportedly represents some of the witnesses, told ESPN. “But if what we see is a truncated, watered-down version of the findings, drafted by the league, similar to what we saw with [attorney] Beth Wilkinson’s report, we have a big problem.”