The Washington Commanders denied allegations they have committed financial malfeasance, urging the Federal Trade Commission to dismiss requests to investigate the team’s conduct.
The recently renamed NFL team sent a letter to the FTC on Monday seeking to disprove claims from Jason Friedman, a former employee who accused the team of withholding security deposits for up to 2,000 customers and hiding money meant to be distributed throughout the National Football League, denouncing the allegations as “baseless” and insisting the House Oversight Committee took Friedman’s accusations at face value without requesting documents or interviews with the Commanders.
“Instead, the Committee took the untested (by cross-examination or otherwise) word of Jason Friedman — a disgruntled former employee who was not an accountant, was fired for professional misconduct in October 2020, and proceeded to plead with the Team to get his old job back until January 2022 — as gospel, and published it, with embellishment, without giving the Team any chance to address his allegations,” the team wrote in its 102-page letter.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS MAY HAVE ENGAGED IN FINANCIAL MISCONDUCT: HOUSE PANEL
In its report, the team cites testimony from several former employees with direct oversight of the team’s finances who denied any wrongdoing and repudiated Friedman’s claims. The team regularly undergoes audits of its finances, which have never shown any irregularities, the letter states.
Friedman testified to the congressional committee in March, alleging a “troubling pattern of financial conduct” that resulted in millions of dollars being withheld in ticket revenue.
This conduct was partly accomplished by falsely documenting some ticket sales as coming from a Navy-Notre Dame college football game or a Kenny Chesney concert hosted at the Commanders’ stadium, the former employee told Congress. The team argued it had booked those sales appropriately and that they were reviewed by auditors.
“It did not happen, and the Team’s records confirm that the Navy-Notre Dame license revenue was appropriately accounted for as Redskins ticket revenue, which is what is used for reporting to, and revenue sharing with, the NFL,” the team wrote. “This example underscores the danger of accepting a pre-determined narrative without asking for the facts from the relevant personnel, as has happened repeatedly with Friedman’s allegations.”
Friedman also claimed the team withheld security deposits from customers who were unlikely to request a refund, returning that revenue to the franchise’s accounting system by attributing it to unrelated events.
The Commanders do not benefit from having security deposits on the books because they are not recorded as an asset, the team argued. Rather, the only deposits that were converted into revenue were those that the customer defaulted on a contract, which is standard practice for these types of security deposits.
“That is the whole point of the security deposit,” said Mitch Gershman, the Commanders’ chief operating officer. “If the customer defaults, the security deposit compensates the Team for the lost opportunity and the need to re-sell the tickets, which takes significant time and effort. The customer contractually agrees to that arrangement, and the Team is entitled to the security deposit if the customer defaults.”
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The committee defended its actions, noting the financial misconduct allegations stemmed from a larger investigation into reports of a toxic work environment, which it said justifies using documents from Friedman, a former employee, as evidence.
“The Committee has been clear that the focus of its investigation is on the team’s toxic workplace and the NFL’s handling of that matter, which is why the Committee provided the statements and documents from Mr. Friedman about potential financial misconduct to the FTC to determine whether additional investigation is warranted,” a committee spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “The team has failed to fully address the issues raised in the Committee’s letter. If the team maintains that it has nothing to hide, it should welcome an independent review by the FTC, or the NFL, which is reportedly examining these issues as well.”
The allegations, if proven to be true, may be the final straw for Dan Snyder, as the longtime team owner has been under investigation for other improper conduct. The team is under investigation for sexual harassment allegations and claims Snyder had fostered a hostile work environment.
The FTC and the Commanders did not respond to requests for comment by the Washington Examiner. The NFL declined to comment.
