The Washington Commanders have been sued again by the District of Columbia, this time accused of scheming to cheat fans out of ticket money.
D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine on Thursday announced the filing of a lawsuit in civil court against the NFL team for the team's actions in taking season-ticket holder money and keeping it for its own purposes.
It’s the second civil suit filed by Racine’s office in the past week after initially accusing the Commanders, owner Dan Snyder, Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league of colluding to deceive fans about an investigation into the team’s workplace culture.
Racine in a statement said the club's ticket policy in question “is yet another example of egregious mismanagement and illegal conduct by Commanders executives who seem determined to lie, cheat, and steal from District residents in as many ways as possible.”
A Commanders spokesperson did not immediately have a response when reached for comment.
The latest lawsuit comes on the heels of the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform saying its investigation will end early next year.
“It's over,” Rep. James Comer of Kentucky said in a brief statement, which came after The Associated Press and other outlets projected Republicans clinched a narrow majority in the House for the 118th Congress that begins meeting Jan. 3.
Democrats led by chairwoman Carolyn Maloney of New York and Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee Chairman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois had been presiding over the investigation since last year. Comer vowed over the summer to bring it to a halt if Republicans won House control from midterm elections, as expected.
The team in a statement through legal counsel praised the decision to drop the case.
“We applaud Rep. Comer for his leadership in putting an end to the investigation into a private company, which has been correctly characterized by sitting members of Congress as a ‘farce’ and ‘an abuse of power,'" attorneys John Brownlee and Stuart Nash said, adding the investigation has not interviewed any current employees and has relied largely on those who have been fired or left the organization.
“The Congressional investigation has added nothing of value to this process and, indeed, the independent firm (Vestry Laight that is) monitoring the improvements in the Commanders’ workplace has singled out the investigation as an impediment to further progress."
A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee said there were no updates on the investigation, which included virtual testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a public hearing and a private virtual deposition by Washington owner Dan Snyder that lasted for more than 10 hours, the contents of which have yet to be released.
“The Committee has selectively leaked witness testimony while burying evidence, such as Mr. Snyder’s own deposition, that refutes the Committee’s pre-conceived narrative,” Brownlee and Nash said in their statement.
Dan and wife Tanya recently hired a firm to explore possible transactions, which could include selling part or all of the team Snyder has owned since 1999.
