The Washington Football Team celebrates an interception during the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at FedExField on Oct. 17 in Landover, Md. Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images
The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Thursday requested documents from the National Football League on its investigation into the culture of the Washington Football Team.
Driving the news: Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the committee chair, and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell requesting the information after leaked emails led to the resignation of Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
- "The Committee is seeking to fully understand this workplace conduct and the league’s response, which will help inform legislative efforts to address toxic work environments and workplace investigation processes," Maloney and Krishnamoorthi wrote.
The big picture: The letter comes after an investigation into the Washington Football Team this summer found that the team's workplace environment was "highly unprofessional," and numerous female employees experienced sexual harassment, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- The New York Times reported earlier this month that Gruden used homophobic and misogynistic language in emails over a roughly seven-year period that ended in 2018 before he joined the Raiders.
- The emails also revealed that Gruden used homophobic slurs to describe Goodell while corresponding with Bruce Allen, the former president of what's now the Washington Football Team.
What they're saying: "The NFL’s lack of transparency about the problems it recently uncovered raise questions about the seriousness with which it has addressed bigotry, racism, sexism, and homophobia—setting troubling precedent for other workplaces," per the letter.
- NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement, "We have received the Chairwoman’s letter and share her concern that all workplaces should be free from any form of harassment and discrimination,” according to the Journal.