Ron Rivera: Washington NFL Team Needs 'Open Door Policy with No Retribution'

Ron Rivera, the head coach of Washington's football team, responded to the Washington Post's report Thursday that 15 former female employees said they were sexually harassed and/or verbally abused by Washington scouts or people within team owner Daniel Snyder's inner circle. 

"Biggest thing is that we have to move forward from this and make sure everybody understands we have policies that we will follow and that we have an open door policy with no retribution," Rivera said in a text message to ESPN's John Keim. "Plus my daughter works for the team and I sure as hell am not going to allow any of this!"

Three members of the organization who departed it within the past week—former director of pro personnel Alex Santos, former assistant director of pro personnel Richard Mann II and radio announcer Larry Michael—were among those accused of sexual harassment and verbal abuse between 2006-19. 

Former president of business operations Dennis Greene and former chief operating officer Mitch Gershman were also named in the report. Snyder himself and former general manager Bruce Allen were not among those accused of misconduct. 

"The [Washington football team] takes issues of employee conduct seriously," the team said in a statement to the Washington Post. "While we do not speak to specific employee situations publicly, when new allegations of conduct are brought forward that are contrary to these policies, we address them promptly."

It is not the first time some within the organization have been accused of sexual misconduct.

In May 2018, several of the team's cheerleaders said during a 2013 photo shoot in Costa Rica that they had been required to be topless or only wearing body paint while a number of male sponsors and FedEx Field suite holders looked on. Several of them were also told they would be serving as escorts for the sponsors during a trip to the nightclub. 

Those cheerleaders said they had not been required to have sex with the men but felt as though they were "pimping us out."

Greene resigned after that report emerged in 2018 after being listed as one of the people responsible for selling access to the photoshoot.