Snyder sued his limited partners claiming that they had tried to smear his reputation to undermine his ownership of the team, triggering a highly contentious legal battle that included accusations that Snyder financially mismanaged the club. The dispute went to a league-appointed mediator and ended in the spring of 2021 after the owners allowed Snyder to take on $450 million in additional debt so he could buy out the three limited partners whose stakes amounted to 40 percent of the club.
In July 2021, the league fined the club a record $10 million and ordered Snyder to stay away from the team after a league-helmed investigation found that a rampant culture of sexual harassment perpetuated by managers and executives had persisted at the team for more than a decade, and that Snyder had done nothing to stop it.
Though some executives were fired and others left, Snyder urged the league to keep the specific findings private, and Commissioner Roger Goodell released only a cursory summary. This led a congressional committee to launch its own investigation into the treatment of women in the team’s front office. Witnesses testified to new claims against Snyder, who was deposed for more than 11 hours.
After the new allegations arose, the league ordered a second investigation led by Mary…
