NFL’s Commanders Deny House Committee’s Allegations of Financial Misconduct

The Washington Commanders have denied allegations of financial misconduct, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday (April 18).

They also criticized the House committee investigating the team. That was the first formal response to the accusations.

Per the report, allegations of financial wrongdoing inside the Commanders were detailed in a letter from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to the Federal Trade Commission last week, which suggested that top executives had been part of a “long-running, and potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct.”

A lawyer said the allegations were based on “uncorroborated, false testimony of a single disgruntled former employee.” The lawyer added that the committee hadn’t sought information from the club, saying it would’ve made it clear the conduct didn’t occur.

The WSJ wrote that the financial allegations suggest the team might have withheld millions in refundable security deposits owed to fans over the last decade. There were also other allegations that the team had withheld money to the NFL because of a system where the league and clubs share various kinds of revenue.

Last year, the NFL failed to make public its probe into allegations of sexual misconduct inside the team, with a new such allegation coming up against owner Dan Snyder recently.

The report noted that the team plans to keep fighting the committee, which is controlled by Democrats — with the Republican minority chastising it all as “misplaced priorities” and siding with the team.

The allegations have drawn the attention of the NFL, which has commissioned an investigation to look into the sexual misconduct allegations. The allegations were reportedly brought up by a former employee at a roundtable hosted by the committee, but now the financial issues will also be a part of it all.

In other news related to the NFL, Tom Brady reportedly has work to do in catching up to other living sports legends, like Michael Jordan and Roger Staubach, in terms of earning in non-football-related business.

Read more: Tom Brady Is Now Competing Against Michael Jordan to Set Off-Field Business Records

Brady, who recently announced he wasn’t retiring from the NFL after all, still trailed those two other men in net worth — Jordan has $1.6 billion and Staubach has $700 million, the report said.