At the semi-annual NFL owners’ meeting, the case of Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Commanders, escalates. For the first time, another owner has now spoken out against him.

Munich/New York City – For a long time, Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Commanders, has been a point of contention in the NFL and among the owners of the other teams.

Now, at the semi-annual owners meeting in New York, things escalated around Snyder. For the first time, another owner, Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, has come out in favour of initiating a sale of the Commanders.

Irsay vs Snyder – Snyder fights back with open letter

At a press conference at the owners’ meeting, Irsay said of the Snyder cause: “I already think there’s a will to get rid of him as owner.” Necessary for that is 24 yes votes from the 32 owners. “I already think we can get that together,” Irsays. It was not initially known whether his statements had been agreed with other owners.

Just an hour later, there was a statement from a Commanders spokesman condemning the Colts owner’s statements. “It is very inappropriate, yet not surprising, for Mr Irsay to make statements based on false information provided by the media,” it said.

“Commanders have made amazing progress over the past two years. We believe that Mr Irsay will revise his statements when he has the opportunity to see actual evidence in this investigation. Then he too will conclude that there is no reason for the Snyder family to sell the franchise. And they won’t,” the open statement continued.

Snyder and the Commanders have been accused of maintaining a toxic work atmosphere where sexual harassment was also said to be a daily occurrence.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell also commented on the Colts owner’s comments. “This is an ongoing proceeding. When the investigation is complete, we will comment. There’s no reason for speculation,” Goodell said.

Letter from Snyder to NFL owners: ‘False reports’

The Commanders and their owner not only addressed the public, they also sent a letter to the other owners. In it, Snyder accuses the sports network “ESPN” of lying. “False reports and allegations” were allegedly published. “This should be shameful for ESPN,” the letter says.

He is particularly disturbed by the allegation that Snyder sent private investigators after other owners: “This is the worst of all allegations. I have never done anything like that and would never do anything like that.” The owner of Commanders, meanwhile, suspects a media conspiracy. “This is all being done to drive a wedge between us. “

Dan Snyder sent this letter to his fellow NFL owners today: pic.twitter.com/HxrM5KOte0

– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 18, 2022

To what extent the letter is just a pretext to prevent a two-thirds majority regarding his removal can only be speculated. However, the various letters from the Commanders as well as the statements of the Colts owner show that there seems to be a lot of steam in the boiler among the owners.