Over a dozen women have accused multiple employees of the Washington Redskins NFL team of sexual harassment, according to the Washington Post.
Emily Applegate, a former marketing coordinator for the club, revealed her allegations to the Washington Post in an interview published Thursday.
Exclusive: Fifteen women who worked for Redskins allege sexual harassment by former scouts and members of owner Daniel Snyder’s inner circle https://t.co/MwMTOFupF9
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 16, 2020
The team has since hired D.C. attorney Beth Wilkinson and her firm “to conduct a thorough independent review of this entire matter and help the team set new employee standards for the future.”
“The Washington Redskins football team takes issues of employee conduct seriously … While we do not speak to specific employee situations publicly, when new allegations of conduct are brought forward that are contrary to these policies, we address them promptly,” the team said in a statement to the outlet.
Applegate recalled the former chief operating officer for the team allegedly calling her “f*cking stupid” and requesting she wear tight dresses when meeting with clients “so the men in the room have something to look at.”
“It was the most miserable experience of my life,” Applegate explained about the year she worked for the team. “And we all tolerated it, because we knew if we complained — and they reminded us of this — there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat.” (RELATED: The Washington Redskins Will Officially Retire The Team Name)
15 women reportedly told the Washington Post they were sexually harassed by Redskins team employees. Applegate was the only woman to come forward, the other 14 requested to remain anonymous due to nondisclosure agreements. The Washington Post claimed the Redskins denied a request from the outlet to release the women from their NDAs.
The allegations stem from incidents occurring between 2006 and 2019.
Redskins NFL broadcast Larry Michael and Director of Pro Personnel Alex Santos have both exited the team in the days leading up to the report that was published Thursday by Washington Post.
RUMOR: The bad news out of Washington is BAD and involves sexual assault, drug abuse, and alcohol abuse. Alex Santos and Richard Mann II were allegedly fired due to the discovery of these instances. (1/3)
— 366 Sports (@366Sports) July 16, 2020
Both men were on the list of employees who were accused of sexual harassment. Michael was accused by seven employees of making comments regarding female employees’ physical appearances in a sexual manner. He reportedly was once caught on a hot-mic talking about how attractive an intern in college, according to the Washington Post. Six employees reportedly heard the recording.
Santos was accused by six former employees and two reporters of making comments about the women’s appearances and asking if they were interested in him romantically, WaPo reported.
Santos was allegedly investigated internally after pinching Athletic reporter Rhiannon Walker’s butt and saying she had “an ass like a wagon,”per the outlet. The Ringer reporter Nora Princiotti also claimed she had been harassed by Santos.
Other employees accused include Assistant Director of Pro Personnel Richard Mann II, former President of Business Operations Dennis Greene and Mitch Gershman, former Chief Operating Officer.
Richard Mann II was also fired earlier this week.
The team reportedly does not have an HR department and there is allegedly no known reporting process.