-
John Keim, ESPN Staff Writer
Jason Friedman, who testified before Congress last year alleging financial improprieties by the Washington Commanders, has filed suit in Virginia against the team and one of its attorneys, John Brownlee, on a defamation claim.
Friedman, who filed the 15-page suit in the civil division of Loudoun County District Court on July 7, asked for $7.5 million in compensatory damages and another $350,000 in punitive damages, in addition to fees incurred. He also asked for a jury trial.
The story was first reported by The Washington Post.
The news came out three days before NFL owners will gather in Minneapolis to vote on the sale of the Commanders from Dan and Tanya Snyder to a group led by Josh Harris. Owners are expected to approve the $6.05 billion sale, ending the Snyders’ 24-year reign.
On March 14, 2022, Friedman testified before the House Oversight Committee for its investigation into the Commanders’ work culture under Snyder. During his closed-door testimony, Friedman accused the team of financial improprieties, which led the committee to send a letter to the Federal Trade Commission about the allegations a month later.
The Commanders denied the allegations in a letter the team sent to the FTC. The letter included emails and texts from Friedman to club officials.
The lawsuit stated that “The Team responded to Mr. Friedman’s allegations of financial improprieties by repeatedly and publicly calling him a liar, accusing him of committing the federal crime of perjury, and falsely implying that he was terminated as part of the Team’s sexual harassment scandal that was being widely reported in the press.”
The suit also asserted that “The Team’s false statements about Mr. Friedman, which it has repeated or caused to be repeated in various public forums, have devastated him personally and professionally: [H]e suffers from severe anxiety and depression, will require ongoing medical treatment, and has been unable to find a comparable job due to the Team’s deliberate and malicious destruction of his reputation.”
The team and Brownlee had not yet issued a statement about the lawsuit.
Friedman worked for the organization for 24 years in ticket sales, eventually becoming its vice president of sales and customer service. He was fired in fall 2020, shortly after Jason Wright took over as team president.
Friedman testified that the team had “knowingly and deliberately” withheld funds from season-ticket holders’ security deposits and that it mischaracterized revenue. In a statement, one of Friedman’s attorneys, Lisa Banks, said, “Jason Friedman testified truthfully before Congress about his experiences with the Washington Commanders. In response to his testimony, the team and its lawyer attempted to publicly destroy him by baselessly calling him a liar and questioning his moral character. I am confident that Mr. Friedman will be vindicated both by the NFL’s investigation and a court of law.” Because he testified behind closed doors, the suit contends that Friedman was not a public figure. Shortly after the story broke about his testimony in 2022, the team released a statement saying in part that “anyone who offered testimony suggesting a withholding of revenue has committed perjury, plain and simple.”
Friedman’s suit also pointed to the letter Washington sent to the FTC that mentioned the “uncorroborated and implausible allegations of a single disgruntled former employee.”
Friedman’s attorneys also state in the lawsuit that Brownlee attempted to tie him to the instances of sexual harassment in the organization during his time with the franchise. The suit pointed to a radio interview Brownlee did with 106.7 The Fan in which he said Friedman became the “very toxic work environment that the team was trying to rid itself [of].”
Washington has reached settlements with the attorney general offices of Maryland and the District of Columbia. Virginia’s attorney general has continued to investigate the allegations. The U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia also opened an investigation into possible financial improprieties by the Commanders.
Attorney Mary Jo White is conducting an investigation into Snyder and the team. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has repeatedly said he’ll release her findings when that probe is done.
Congress investigated Snyder and the Commanders for nearly a year before Republicans won control of the House and declined to pursue the matter further.