Two former Washington Football Team employees protested the NFL’s decision to not release its report investigating the team’s workplace culture before Monday night’s game against Seattle.
The small protest, led by former team employees Melanie Coburn and Megan Imbert, called on the NFL to be transparent and unveil the full findings of the investigation. The circle of protesters were wearing “#ReleaseTheReport” t-shirts.
“We’re just very disappointed in the outcome,” said Coburn, who was a Washington cheerleader from 1997-2001 and marketing director from 2001-2011. “We want transparency and accountability. We want them to release the report so that progress and meaningful change can happen.”
The NFL has said it doesn’t plan to release any more material beyond the summary of the findings it released last July, citing confidentiality concerns. The league faced increased pressure to release a written report after leaked emails from the investigation caused former Raiders coach Jon Gruden to resign.
Congress has inquired into the NFL’s investigation, with the league partially complying earlier this month by submitting answers posed by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. However, the league did not submit the documents requested by House Democrats Carolyn B. Maloney of New York and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.
The protest, which was held in one of the parking lots outside FedEx Field, is the latest action by the former employees unhappy with the league’s decision. In late October, Coburn and former team employee Ana Nunez crashed the NFL’s fall owners meetings in New York to deliver letters that urged the league to release the report.
“We’re not going to stop,” Coburn said. “We’re going to keep sharing the stories and pushing for the report’s release.”
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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