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| - Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder promised change and a new culture for his NFL team Friday after 15 women said they had been sexually harassed while employed by the club. The Washington Post reported the detailed allegations Thursday prompting Snyder to hire Washington law firm Wilkinson Walsh to investigate team policy, culture and workplace misconduct. "The behavior described in yesterday's Washington Post article has no place in our franchise or society," Snyder said in a statement. "This story has strengthened my commitment to setting a new culture and standard for our team, a process that began with the hiring of coach (Ron) Rivera earlier this year." Rather than launching its own probe, the NFL said it will act upon the finding from the attorneys paid for by Snyder, who was not among Redskins employees accused of inappropriate behavior. "These matters as reported are serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL's values. Everyone in the NFL has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of harassment," the league said in a statement on its website. "Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so. "We will meet with the attorneys upon the conclusion of their investigation and take any action based on the findings." Snyder said the probe will not be influenced by his financing it. "Beth Wilkinson and her firm are empowered to do a full, unbiased investigation and make any and all requisite recommendations," Snyder said. "Upon completion of her work, we will institute new policies and procedures and strengthen our human resources infrastructure to not only avoid these issues in the future but most importantly create a team culture that is respectful and inclusive of all." The Post's report comes at a time of seismic upheaval for Snyder's team, which this week announced it was changing its Redskins name, a moniker long criticized as racist and offensive to Native Americans. The newspaper's report said the harassment took place from 2006 through 2019 and led to the departure of three team employees in the past week. Emily Applegate, the only woman among the 15 identified by the Post, said the club was indifferent when a female employee alleged she had been groped by a wealthy stadium suite holder. She also said she was verbally abused by a former senior executive while being ordered to wear tight-fitting clothes during meetings with clients. Applegate told the Post her time with the Redskins was "the most miserable experience of my life" and added, "we all tolerated it, because we knew if we complained -- and they reminded us of this -- there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat." Washington head coach Rivera released a statement saying everyone needed to understand the team's policy against harassment moving forward, noting he had a personal stake in the matter. "Biggest thing is that we have to move forward from this and make sure everybody understands we have policies that we will follow and that we have an open door policy with no retribution," Rivera said. "Plus, my daughter works for the team and I sure as hell am not going to allow any of this." js/rcw
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