Goodell ‘not aware’ of owners counting votes to oust Snyder

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he was “not aware” of league owners counting votes to potentially oust Commanders owner Dan Snyder. 

Goodell, speaking at a press conference Tuesday in Atlanta for the league’s spring meetings, told reporters that the league’s investigation into Snyder and the Commanders needs to be finished before any conclusions can be made. 

The NFL hired former SEC chair Mary Jo White to oversee yet another probe of the team after a former Washington employee accused Snyder of making an unwanted sexual advance during a work dinner roughly 15 or 16 years ago. The inquiry has since expanded to examine allegations the team committed financial improprieties. Snyder has fiercely denied the claims.

“Let’s wait and get the facts,” Goodell said.

The commissioner was asked about Snyder after a USA Today article over the weekend indicated that league owners were growing increasingly frustrated with Snyder. In the report, one owner said his colleagues are “counting votes” in the event they need to oust Snyder. 

Under NFL bylaws, the league can force an owner to sell his team but the measure requires 24 votes — or three-fourths — among NFL ownership. The measure has also never been used.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that some owners would be in favor of a lengthy suspension for Snyder depending on what White’s report uncovers. 

When the NFL’s first investigation of the Commanders was finished last July, the league opted to not suspend Snyder. League officials said Snyder agreed to voluntarily step away from day-to-day operations of the team for “several months,” adding that his wife, Tanya, would step into the role. The team was fined $10 million.

In March, Goodell told reporters at the league’s annual owners’ meeting that Snyder was still not involved in the day-to-day operations of the team. But after that, a high-ranking source told The Washington Times that Snyder is indeed back to overseeing the team and has no restrictions on how to run his team. 

Tanya Snyder, named co-CEO shortly before the findings of the first report were announced, has been representing Washington at league meetings. She was reportedly not in Atlanta, however, because she tested positive for COVID-19.

Snyder and the Commanders face at least four active investigations. Beyond the NFL’s inquiry, the House Oversight and Reform Committee began looking into the team last fall, and attorney generals from Virginia and the District have also launched inquiries.