Man alive, Dan Snyder has a lot to answer for

Let’s start with the bombshell July 2020 Washington Post reporting where 40 former then-Redskins employees, both in the front office and cheerleaders, alleged sexual harassment and discrimination by Snyder and the team’s male executives and players for well over a decade.

After an independent investigation, it was found that tactics of intimidation and bullying were commonplace inside Washington’s organization. That led to a $10 million fine from the NFL. Snyder stepped down from running the team’s daily operations for a little while, handing them to his wife, Tanya Snyder.

As the committee wanted to interview Snyder about his role in the disgusting workplace culture, he didn’t show, leading to a likely subpoena. Committee chairperson Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) provided this tidbit in her opening statement: “Apparently, Mr. Snyder is in France where he docked his luxury yacht in a resort town. That should tell you how much respect he has for women in the workplace.”

In another sign of Snyder’s disrespect of women, it came to light in December 2020 that a former Washington employee had settled a sexual harassment claim for $1.6 million. The alleged event took place on Snyder’s private plane in 2009.

Since Snyder’s takeover, Washington has won two playoff games in 23 seasons and hasn’t reached the NFC Championship game. Outside of the first season with Snyder at the helm, 1999, the now-Commanders haven’t won a division title and a playoff game in the same season.

Washington has had a winning record six times under Snyder, never reaching more than 10 wins. The former Redskins have reached double-digit losses 10 times, playing in the worst division in football for most of this century.

There have been eight head coaches, including the hire of Jim Zorn, and 14 different primary starting quarterbacks. That number will reach 15 this upcoming season with Carson Wentz behind center. No quarterback has made it more than three consecutive years as the team’s starter.

Yes, Snyder doesn’t coach the team. Who makes the decisions in the hierarchy to put those people in place? Snyder. As the owner, you’re responsible for everything. Good, more likely bad and all the ugly. Those shortcomings over such an extended period, much like rival owner Jerry Jones, fall on Snyder’s doorstep.

Also part of Wednesday’s hearing was an April letter the committee sent to the Federal Trade Commission alleging Snyder had been keeping separate financial records for around a decade. One document stated the actual profits and revenue, the other was the vastly different submission to the NFL.

Snyder’s alleged lowering of ticket sales would line his pockets, instead of doing the financially responsible thing and giving the proper share to the NFL’s Visiting Team Fund. That revenue is required to be shared with other teams.

It was a relevant topic since Snyder bought the franchise, changing the team’s name away from the Redskins, due to it being a slur to describe Native Americans. Snyder heard the noise from large groups of politicians and fans and always came out with a rebuttal about no switch being necessary. Snyder told USA Today in 2013: “​​We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.”

That lasted seven years, until the aftermath of the George Floyd protests. A letter signed by 87 shareholders was distributed to sponsors such as Nike recommending they cut ties with the franchise unless Washington changed its name. In July 2020, it was “retired” and, after two seasons as the Washington Football Team, Commanders was inserted as the permanent nickname. The team’s new-name release in February was also as sloppy as can be.

Nothing like taking out frustration of an economic collapse on those who’ve shown Washington loyalty. During the Great Recession of the late 2000s, Snyder sued season ticket holders who weren’t able to pay for their seats. He did claim at one point that over 200,000 people were on the then-Redskins season-ticket waiting list, but it wasn’t as simple as diving into that “large” pool to replace anyone who couldn’t pay during financially hard times for a non-billionaire with individuals who could.

One case saw an elderly woman named Pat Hill, who had season tickets with the team since the early 1960s and was living on $400 a month in social security, sued by the team two years after she signed a 10-year, $5,300-per-season contract for two premium seats. Maybe a little empathy would’ve been nice?

Reflected by the aforementioned mediocrity on the field, Washington’s attendance has dropped significantly. The last season where more than 700,000 tickets were sold for the eight combined home games was 2008. Landover, Maryland’s FedEx Field had a capacity of 91,655 back then, leaving around 30,000 seats across the entire season empty. That’s a sign of a healthy franchise.

Capacity has dipped to 67,717 in the worn-down stadium by the nation’s capital. And attendance has shrunk with it. A massive collapse in tickets sold happened during the 2018 season, lowered from 601,405 the previous season to 488,227, a near 19 percent drop in attendance. Last year was the worst year yet, with 422,009 in total attendance and visible road-fan support at a few games.

There are plenty to name, but let’s start with Donovan McNabb. Trading a second-round pick for the longtime washed-up Eagles’ starter in 2010 lasted 13 games. He went 5-8 and was benched for Rex Grossman. How about giving Albert Haynesworth $100 million, only for a man guaranteed $41 million to show up to training camp 25 pounds overweight? Remember that conditioning test he had to pass just to practice with the rest of the team?

Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, and Mark Brunell are other veteran players way past their primes Snyder spent too much money on to try and revitalize his team instead of building around younger, hungrier talent. And when Washington has that talent, it mismanages that situation, too. Case in point: Terry McLaurin. Pay up Snyder.

Goodell admitted in Wednesday’s hearing he doesn’t have the authority to remove Snyder as the team’s owner. Whether that’ll remain true or not (look at Donald Sterling and Roman Abramovich for two other examples) remains to be seen. Snyder has definitely lost the trust to be at the helm of the franchise from its fan base.

He’s run Washington into the ground and efforts to cover his and others’ wrongdoings will surely backfire. At this point, it’s a matter of when, not if, he’s no longer in power in Washington. He’ll reach 25 years on top of the now-Commanders soon. What can you name about the organization that’s better now than when Snyder took over? Not much and if he had a boss, he’d be fired. It’s beyond time to take out the trash.