Why is the NFL intent on protecting Dan Snyder? - Lawyers accuse league of intransparency in Washington investigation

Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Football Team, currently seems to be the equivalent of Tom Brady. No, not because of his looks, his Super Bowl championships, or his endorsement deals. The reason is that he seems to be untouchable, similar to Brady in the pocket behind Tristan Wirfs and company.

Over the past 24 hours, the news has broken about former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and his emails from 2011 and 2012 spewing racist, homophobic and misogynistic rhetoric towards African Americans, the gay and queer community, and women.

Within the first single email from Gruden to Bruce Allen, a former Washington Football Team executive, Gruden had described NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, who is African American, in the following manner:

“Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of Michellin (sic) tires.”

If that wasn’t enough, Gruden proceeded to use derogatory terms such as “faggot” and “queer” in the emails to describe those that may have been gay, such as 2014 NFL draftee Michael Sam. Sam came out as gay during his last year playing in college for the Missouri Tigers. Upon being drafted in 2014 by the (then) St. Louis Rams, Sam was, at that time, the only openly active gay player.

With all of the news about Gruden and rightfully so, we have all failed to realize the reason these emails were discovered in the first place. There was, and still is, an investigation into the alleged corrupt and immoral practices by the Washington Football Team and their owner, one Daniel Snyder.

Why is the NFL comfortable protecting Daniel Snyder?

Daniel Snyder is living a luxurious life. And no, I’m not speaking from a tangible perspective. Sure, he has cars and clothes the names of which many of us can’t even articulate.

But I am speaking from a perspective of being a white male that gets to experience the perks that come with white privilege.

Upon learning some of the questionable practices of the Washington Football Team (like the many claims and stories of sexual harassment), the NFL first allowed Snyder and his cohorts to investigate themselves, instead of requesting a thorough independent investigation.

That’s the equivalent of letting your kids choose their own punishment (four cookies for dessert instead of three). When the NFL did finally decide to get serious and hire a third-party company to investigate, they informed the company to provide them with a presentation of what they found instead of a full-page comprehensive report.

This appeared to have been the ultimate smoke screen to protect Snyder from there being full details about what really has been happening in the Washington Football Team’s organization. I am almost certain that when the NFL heard the word “report,” they may have had visions of the aftermath of the Mitchell Report.

Could a thorough investigation into Snyder provide something similar to the Mitchell Report?

The Mitchell Report is a bombshell investigation and report to the Commissioner of Baseball regarding the use of illegal steroids by players in Major League Baseball.

The report was explosive, as it revealed several big-name stars were consuming illegal steroids. The NFL may have been attempting to avoid the same backlash by dismissing a full report and requesting a simple “presentation.”

Lawyers have also accused the NFL of intransparency, meaning that the NFL is trying to hide things, such as what is really going on with the Washington Football Team.

The first shoe has dropped with Jon Gruden. Now it’s time to reel in the biggest catch in the ocean, which is Daniel Snyder.