Former Washington Football Team Employee from Silver Spring Calls for Accountability

A former Washington Football Team (WFT) employee from Silver Spring, who participated in the NFL’s investigation into the team’s alleged widespread harassment and sexual misconduct, is calling for transparency.

Ana Nuñez worked for the WFT from 2015 to 2019 and she told MyMCM that “pretty much [every employee’s] mentality was survival mode.”

Here’s the letter Ana Nunez and Melanie Coburn brought to the league meetings, planning to drop off a copy for each NFL owner. “We are calling on you to demand that the NFL make the findings public.” pic.twitter.com/vyWqxAXhxM

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 26, 2021

On Tuesday, Nuñez took a train from Washington D.C. to New York City to accompany former WFT cheerleader Melanie Coburn in hand-delivering a letter signed by 12 former employees to the NFL’s owners’ meeting. The letter calls for the NFL to disclose the results of the investigation to “send the message that the League does not tolerate misogyny and abuse.”

Nuñez said an internal investigation started after the Washington Post published an investigation in July 2020 detailing the WFT’s workplace culture of toxicity, sexual misconduct, and a lack of support from the team’s human resources. According to the New York Times, the NFL announced on July 1 that the findings of the investigation would result in the team having to pay a $10 million fine and owner Dan Snyder would step away from day-to-day business operations.

Nuñez talked to MyMCM about the type of toxicity she experienced working for the WFT.

The NFL has not released a full summary of the investigation.

“By failing to disclose the findings of the investigation, and by ignoring calls to do so by WFT employees, lawyers, activists, and most recently Congress, the League is communicating that it is more interested in protecting wealthy owners and preserving misogynist and abusive structures than in reckoning with its cultural problems,” the letter to the NFL owners says.

Although she was initially nervous, Nuñez decided to deliver the letters Tuesday to show that she was “ready to fight.”

“There’s no perfect workplace, but we want accountability and we want action,” Nuñez said.

About Deirdre Byrne

Deirdre Byrne is a social media coordinator for Montgomery Community Media. She can be reached at dbyrne@mymcmedia.org or on twitter at @DeirdreByrneMCM.

View all posts by Deirdre Byrne