‘It escalated very quickly’: A controversial NFL team is back in the spotlight following sexual harassment allegations

WASHINGTON, D.C — Turmoil in the NFL. Days after announcing Washington, D.C. will be changing it’s controversial team name, that same franchise is now facing claims of sexual harassment.

Officials report at least 15 former female employees have come forward, claiming they were sexually harassed and verbally abused by executives and scouts while working for the club.

One former employee, Emily Applegate, spoke out.

“It was probably a week, two weeks in that I was already being screamed at and I was already being hit on by people in the office… It escalated very quickly”.

Applegate calls her time with the D.C. NFL team ‘the most miserable experience’ of her life.

“I had a friend of mine that worked in a different department, but she was basically getting the same treatment from her direct boss,” said Applegate. “And we would legit cry in the bathroom”.

The claims span more than a dozen years – while the team was under the control of majority owner, Dan Synder.

Accusations include charges of unwelcome sexual advances, being the target of disparaging comments, and being encouraged to wear revealing clothing and flirt with suite holders.

Among the accused are former Director of Pro Personnel Alex Santos, former Assistant Director of Pro Personnel Richard Mann, and longtime Announcer Larry Michael.

All three of these men left the organization a week before the accusations came to light.

The franchise’s management released a statement saying they’ve hired a law firm ‘to conduct a thorough independent review of this entire matter and help the team set new employee standards to the future”.