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'DISTURBING'
NFL vows to help investigate ‘serious’ Washington Redskins ‘sexual harassment’ allegations made by 15 women
THE NFL on Friday pledged to work with investigators on the "serious" and "disturbing" allegations that female Washington Redskins staffers were sexually harassed.
The former female Redskins employees spoke out about the sexual harassment and verbal abuse they apparently endured as owner Dan Snyder vowed to address the claims.
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, the women detailed their alleged abuse – which is said to have included team’s owner Daniel Snyder’s “inner circle.”
The league said in a statement that they will help the Redskins with their internal investigation, and added the accusations are "contrary to NFL's values" — and that, "Everyone in the has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of ."
"Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so."
"We will meet with the attorneys upon their conclusion for their investigation and take any action based on the findings," the statement concluded.
Snyder said the behavior described in the article "has no place in our franchise or society" and vowed to set "a new culture and standard" for his team.
Emily Applegate, 31, one of the allegedly harassed employees, began working for the NFL team eight years ago and recalled meeting a female coworker during their lunch breaks to cry about the abuse they went through.
Applegate claimed she had been called "f**king stupid" by the team's former chief operating officer.
She claimed he also asked her to wear a tight dress to a client meeting, to give "the men in the room something to look at."
The 14 other women who divulged their experiences spoke anonymously as nondisclosure agreements had been signed by some of them - which could lead to legal action taken against them if they spoke negatively about the team.
Applegate, who worked for the team between 2014 and 2015, said she is not scared of talking about the team because she is "just telling the truth."
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She recounted that a suite holder had grabbed her friend's buttocks during a game and a top sales exec for the team appeared unconcerned when she explained what happened.
When the Post reached out to the Washington Redskins asking for the employees to be liberated from their disclosure agreements, the team dismissed the request.
More than 40 current and ex-employees were interviewed by the Post.
In regards to Applegate's time working as the team's marketing coordinator, she said: "It was the most miserable experience of my life."
“And we all tolerated it, because we knew if we complained, and they reminded us of this, there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat.”
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The men accused of harassment are: Mitch Gershman, former chief operating officer; Dennis Greene, former president of business operations; Richard Mann II, assistant director of pro personnel; Alex Santos, the club’s director of pro personnel; and Larry Michael, the club’s radio voice.
Larry Michael resigned this week after 16 seasons with the Redskins, while Santos and Mann were both fired from the team last week, according to reports.
Three of the accused men are formerly of Snyder's inner circle and two of them were longstanding members of the personnel department, per the news outlet.
However, both Snyder and the team's former president, Bruce Allen, have not been accused of inappropriate behavior with women.
Snyder was instead blamed for "an understaffed human resources department" and "a sophomoric culture of verbal abuse."
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Applegate's accusations were denied by Gershman, who spoke with the Post via phone.
Gershman said: “I barely even remember who she is. I thought the Redskins was a great place to work. I would apologize to anyone who thought that I was verbally abusive."
Despite his denial, Applegate claimed that Gershman would call her "stupid for not being able to print something out the way he wanted."
She said he urged her to always wear heels and asked about her dating situation.
Applegate claimed that, one time, Gershman said: "Oh, did you run extra yesterday? You look really good."
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The team's former VP of communications in 2003, Julia Payne, claimed the workplace to be "hostile."
“I have never been in a more hostile, manipulative, passive-aggressive environment… and I worked in politics," Payne said.
“With such a toxic, mood-driven environment, and the owner behaving like he does. How could anyone think these women would go to HR?”
In response to the accusations, the team released a statement to the Post, revealing that Washington, DC, attorney Beth Wilkinson and her firm, Wilkinson Walsh, will follow through with a "thorough independent review of this entire matter."
In his statement, Snyder supported Wilkinson doing a "full, unbiased investigation" and promised to institute new policies and procedures upon its completion."
I have never been in a more hostile, manipulative, passive-aggressive environment.
Julia Payne
The firm said they will also "help the team set new employee standards for the future."
"The Washington Redskins football team takes issues of employee conduct seriously," the team added.
"While we do not speak to specific employee situations publicly, when new allegations of conduct are brought forward that are contrary to these policies, we address them promptly."
The Sun has also reached out to the Redskins for comment.
Redskins director of communications, Sean DeBarbieri, replied: "We will be deferring to our statement in the Post article."
The news comes just days after the Redskins confirmed that they're
On Monday, the -based team : "We are announcing we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo."
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