Did the NFL and Snyder deceive Washingtonians?
It is another Sunday with another slate of National Football League games and also, another Daniel Snyder problem. Snyder, the owner of the Washington Commanders along with Commissioner Roger Goodell, 30 other owners and the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors are being sued by the Washington, D. C. Attorney General for misleading consumers. What is odd by the action of the Attorney General Karl Racine is this. The Snyder business is based in Virginia and its store so to speak is in Landover, Maryland. For some reason, Racine thinks that Washingtonians who support Snyder’s business are being deceived under the District of Columbia’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which gives the Attorney General authority to hold individuals or a company accountable for misleading consumers. Exactly who has been deceived? People from Washington who have luxury boxes or suites or club seats or ordinary tickets to Commanders games in Maryland? Despite all of the allegations surrounding Snyder’s business practices no one is forcing anybody from the District to buy Commanders tickets or merchandise.
Additionally no one is forcing marketing partners to stay with Snyder and his product. Racine said, “for years the team and its owner have caused very real and very serious harm and then lied about it to dodge accountability and to continue to rake in profits. So far they seem to have gotten away with it, but that stops today.” The NFL has never released its findings of an investigation into Snyder’s workplace culture which includes charges of sexual harassment. A Congressional panel also wants to know about Snyder’s business practices. Snyder has retained a bank to see what the business is worth in the event he wants to sell the franchise. Goodell’s big mistake was never publicly releasing the league’s investigation of Snyder’s business. He should have made the findings public.
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