WASHINGTON — Allegations of rampant sexual harassment on the Washington Football Team now involve owner Daniel Snyder, according to a new report.

What You Need To Know

  • A former Washington Football Team employee says a lewd video of cheerleaders was made for owner Daniel Snyder

  • An ex-cheerleader claims Snyder suggested she and his friend go into a hotel room together 

  • More women have come forward since a Washington Post article last month to further describe sexual harassment

  • Synder has denied the allegations involving himself

A former employee, Brad Baker, told The Washington Post in an article published Wednesday that Larry Michael, then the team’s lead broadcaster and a senior vice president, ordered employees to produce a separate video showing lewd outtakes from the team’s official video chronicling the making of 2008 cheerleader swimsuit calendar and that the video be given to Snyder.

Cheerleaders were unaware nude footage of them was being made for private use, the report said.

According to Baker, Michael referred to the footage as "the good bits" or "the good parts."

The Post obtained a copy of the video from another former team employee, as well as a similar outtakes video from 2010. A former broadcasting producer for the team told the newspaper that Michael ordered that the 2010 video be titled "For Executive Meeting." The former producer did not recall Snyder’s name being mentioned. 

The Post reported last month on 17 female employees who alleged widespread sexual harassment in the team’s front office, including by Michael. In response, Snyder said such behavior "has no place in our franchise" and hired a law firm to "set new employee standards for the future."

But more women have come forward since, describing a toxic work culture in which male bosses, colleagues and players commented on their bodies and clothing, used sexual innuendos and made unwanted advances. Many of the women said they were motivated to speak out after Snyder tried to distance himself from the behavior in his response to the initial Post article.

Former cheerleader Tiffany Bacon Scourby said she was at a 2004 charity event when Snyder, who has owned the team since 1999, approached her and suggested she join his close friend in a hotel room so they "could get to know each other better."

"There’s a power dynamic, and Dan Snyder looked down on me,” Scourby told the Post. "Because he‘s powerful and our employer, he thinks he somehow has the right to say these things to us, to make these requests of us, and he doesn’t. It’s disgusting."

The article contains other accounts from former female employees who say they were objectified, with one saying: "It was like fresh meat to a pack of wolves every time a new pack of interns would come in. It was like a frat house, with men lined up in the lobby watching women walk in and out. You constantly felt there were eyes on you."

Last month, the team announced, after 87 years, it is changing its name from the Redskins after feeling pressure from sponsors. The franchise is simply being called the "Washington Football Team" for the 2020 season while it decides on a new nickname moving forward.

After the story was published, Snyder released a statement taking responsibilty for the culture of the organization and admitting he had "been too hands-off as an owner and allowed others to have day-to-day control to the detriment of our organization." The owner denied any knowledge of the videos and said of Scourby's story: "This never happened."

He also accused the Post of ignoring information the team provided to the newspaper. The Post said it gave Snyder and the Washington Football Team "repeated opportunities" to respond before publishing the story. 

"The Washington Post article reads like a 'hit job' relying on unnamed sources and allegations that are largely ten to twenty years old," he said. "We attempted to engage the Washington Post to provide them with the facts, but those facts clearly didn't align with their narrative." 

Snyder added that he had already begun taking steps "to ensure that the Washington Football Team is an organization that is diverse, inclusive and respectful of all." 

Michael denied any knowledge of the videos to the Post. Two other former employees Baker said were involved in producing the 2008 video not only denied his account but said, too, they never knew of such a video's existence. 

"Nothing can be further from the truth," he told the newspaper. "I was never asked to nor did I ask someone to compile videos as you described."