Commanders Refute Claims Of Financial Misconduct In Letter To FTC

The Washington Commanders did nothing wrong. Or so they say in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission.

In the letter, the Commanders strongly shot down allegations of financial improprieties and claimed the FTC has no reason to investigate.

ESPN's John Keim received a copy of the letter.

"The 22-page letter -- written by team attorney Jordan Siev, addressed to FTC chair Lina M. Khan and obtained by ESPN -- rebutted allegations by former team employee Jason Friedman that the team had engaged in nefarious financial practices, impacting consumers and the NFL, to increase its revenue," Keim reported. "In addition to the letter, there were 83 pages of signed affidavits, emails and texts."

For its part, the FTC acknowledged it received the letter -- but would go no further when it came to offering input. Namely, the government agency won't say whether it intends to investigate.

"Washington's letter called Friedman's claims 'baseless' as well as 'false and reckless' and based on 'pure speculation,' according to Mitch Gershman, Washington's former chief operating officer, who left the team in 2015 but five years later was accused by former employees of sexual harassment in a Washington Post article," Keim reported. "Gershman and others said Friedman was out of the loop because he did not work in the accounting department and was therefore not privy to all financial discussions. Friedman worked at the team's stadium in Landover, Maryland, which is approximately one hour from the practice facilities in Ashburn, Virginia, where according to the letter the finance and accounting departments worked."

As Matthew Paras of The Washington Times relayed, Friedman is sticking to his story.

But Friedman was a disgruntled ex-employee, the letter went on to say, per Keim. Prior to making the claims of financial indiscretions, Friedman "had lobbied several people in the organization -- including Wright -- via email and by text to allow him to return, while also sending a letter to owner Dan Snyder after his firing in 2020 praising him," Keim wrote, summarizing a portion of the letter.