Dan Snyder was a hot topic coming into the NFL owners meeting this week, as the reviled owner of the Commanders has been at the center of Congressional probes into the organization’s workplace, where there have been numerous allegations of sexual harassment as well as some questionable financial practices.
As the various investigations into the Commanders have released findings to the public, there has been a renewed push to get Snyder out of the league, which has naturally led him to dig in further. There was a report last week that Snyder has been collecting information on his fellow owners via private investigators and has told people he has dirt on a few, including Jerry Jones, he would make public if they try to oust him from the league. Snyder has denied that in a statement through the team, but it certainly sounds plausible given the spitefulness of NFL owners.
In any case, the prevailing thought heading into this week’s meetings was that Snyder would be discussed but there would be no vote on his future in the NFL in the immediate. Then, Colts owner Jim Irsay became the first to publicly back the idea of getting Snyder out of the league and noted that, while there needs to be more discussion and some investigations need to be finished up, he believed there was “merit” to voting him out and felt they potentially could get the 24 votes needed to do so.
And there it is… Jim Irsay says #Commanders owner Dan Snyder should be removed as owner #NFL … added he thinks they will get the votes eventually … but today though #SportsBiz pic.twitter.com/CElZHk8WIS
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) October 18, 2022
Asked if there are 24 votes: “I think potentially there will be.”
Bombshell. https://t.co/sCpxXBuDXJ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 18, 2022
This is noteworthy given its the first time we’ve heard an owner speak like this about Snyder on the record, which he wouldn’t do if he didn’t believe there was at least a good bit of backing for this position from others. That said, he also isn’t offering anything close to a guarantee it happens, and it remains to be seen if there are in fact 24 owners that share this viewpoint and will put it to a vote at some point.
Irsay also noted that he was not concerned about the report of Snyder digging up dirt on other owners.
Irsay said he doesn’t care if Snyder might have dirt on other owners. “He can investigate me till the cows come home, it’s not going to back me off.”
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) October 18, 2022
The Colts owner has seen his share of scandals in his time so we might just already know most of what there is to know about him, but these public comments will only fuel the push to remove Snyder from the outside. We just have to wait to see if the owners will make it happen.