The House Committee on Oversight and Reform will hear allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse from former Washington Football Team employees on February 3.
Emily Applegate, the team's former marketing coordinator and ticket sales representative, and Melanie Coburn, a former cheerleader and director of marketing, are two of the former employees who plan to participate.
The committee needs to ask critical questions about the pervasive culture of sexual at WFT.
All members of the committee will be given a chance to question the former employees during the roundtable discussion.
For more than twenty years, employees of the Washington Football Team were subjected to sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and other misconduct. The decision of the NFL to cover up abuses raises serious questions about its commitment to setting workplace standards that keep employees safe. I applaud the bravery of the victims who came forward to share their stories.
The ranking Republican on the committee said in a statement that the roundtable was a misuse of the committee's resources.
The meeting will be held in a traditional hearing room, but participants will not be sworn in, according to a committee spokesman. She said that no one currently with the team or the league has been invited to participate.
Brian McCarthy, the spokesman for the league, said in a statement that they continue to cooperate with the committee. We will decline further comment out of respect for the ongoing process.
The Washington Football Team plans to announce a new name.
Democrats on the committee told the sports network that they are looking into the case of employees who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. In October, they told ESPN that they wanted to make sure the NFL didn't cover up information using nondisclosure agreements.
The National Football League fined Washington $10 million for creating a toxic workplace after a series of articles in The Washington Post detailing allegations of sexual harassment.
The resignation of Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden was linked to the leak of emails from the investigation into the team.
Racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language were included in the emails that were sent over a seven-year span to then-Washington president Bruce Allen. They led to renewed calls for the NFL to release the findings of the independent investigation into the Washington Football Team's workplace.
The congressional committee requested a list of documents and answers to questions, which included the league's role in the investigation into the Washington Football Team's workplace culture.
In November, the league told the sports network that it was cooperating with the investigation and providing requested documentation.
Allen was let go after the season. The people who were accused of sexual harassment or contributing to the toxic workplace have either been fired or retired.
Some Democrats on the oversight committee are interested in the role of the leader in the workplace culture of his organization.
The discussion is not the end of the inquiry according to the people.
The investigation will continue until the perpetrators of sexual harassment are held accountable.
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