Last year, Commanders owner Daniel Snyder was suspended from the league. Unless he wasn’t. This lockdown is now over. Unless it hasn’t.
About the Washington Post, the team’s attorneys claim that Snyder “is no longer subject to any NFL restrictions” regarding his involvement in the team’s operations. The NFL declined to confirm or deny the testimony of the team’s attorneys.
The league has consistently said nothing has changed about Snyder’s role.
Here is the relevant part of the declaration issued to post: “Dan Snyder has reached an agreement with the NFL that he will be retiring from day-to-day operations for a limited period of time and he is no longer subject to NFL restrictions regarding his involvement with the team. That being said, Jason Wright did such an excellent job as team president from day one that there was little need for Dan to interfere with the team’s operations. Tanya was also very engaging and energetic. . . . Tanya continues to represent the team at NFL meetings as a dedicated, effective, longtime co-owner and is one of the small group of female owners. However, this decision is a joint decision by Tanya and Dan and is not the result of any requirement imposed by the NFL.
It’s a matter of semantics, but the semantics are consistent. And it was part of an ongoing theme when it came to characterizing Snyder’s status.
When Snyder was originally promoted to whatever status he previously or currently held, there was disagreement as to whether he did so voluntarily. There was a dispute over whether Snyder needed the Commissioner’s approval to revert to his former status.
In March, the commissioner said that Snyder remains uninvolved in the day-to-day running of the team. Soon after that Washington Times reported that he had returned to that role. The league declined to comment on the report of the league office’s disregard for expectations.
When the commissioner testified before the House Oversight Committee in late June, the commissioner added the key phrase “to the best of his knowledge” about Snyder’s activities, an admission of the possibility that his knowledge is incorrect.
Meanwhile, the League Office continues to tiptoe around Snyder. Perhaps that’s because of the ESPN report suggesting Snyder is protected by the “dirt” he’s put together about others. Maybe there is another reason.
Regardless, the league has been looking the other way at Snyder for some time. It’s hard to imagine how that would change if there weren’t dramatic evidence of some sort of wrongdoing that the average person finds intolerable. With some ongoing investigations, that might come.
Daniel Snyder’s Lawyers Claim He’s No Longer Under NFL Restrictions originally appeared on Pro Football Talk
