By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – The National Football League (NFL) said on Friday it takes accusations of workplace misconduct against the Washington Redskins team seriously and will meet with the team’s outside counsel once it has completed an investigation.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that 15 women who previously worked for the team had told the paper they were sexually harassed during their time at the club.
“These matters as reported are serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL’s values,” the NFL said in a statement. “Everyone in the NFL has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of harassment.”
In a separate development, the team made headlines this week when it announced plans to retire their name and logo which has long been criticized as racist by Native American rights groups.
The team did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment on the Washington Post report.
In a statement the Post published on Thursday, the team said: “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 accusations detailed in the Washington Post article span from 2006 to 2019 and all but one of the 15 women spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Asked by Reuters for comment, the NFL emailed a statement saying: “Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so.”
The statement said the NFL would meet with the attorneys later and take any action based on their findings.
