Dan Snyder Won’t Stand for Trafficking Allegations

According to TMZ Sports, Washington Football Team owner Daniel Snyder has filed federal lawsuits against New Content Media and Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide, in New Dehli. The company is allegedly responsible for a series of slandering articles posted on its website, meaww.com, earlier this year. The articles claimed that Snyder was associated with controversial millionaire Jeffery Epstein and his highly speculated child sex trafficking ring.

Last August, Epstein was found deceased in his cell while awaiting federal charges. While his death was ruled a suicide, many believe his connections with high profile politicians were a factor in his early demise. Epstein was expected to testify later in the year. The suspicious circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death have caused many to search for answers and draw their own conclusions. Snyder is just one on a list of social and financial elites accused of associating with the convicted sex offender. The most notable of the names are Bill Gates, Donald Trump, and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. None of those claims have been substantially investigated.

New Content Media, an India based company, reportedly posted the defaming articles in July. It was around that time that rumors began to buzz in anticipation of an upcoming Washington Post exposé. The article was rumored to break a big story regarding the Washington football team and sexual allegations. Ahead of its release, speculation turned into widespread damaging assumptions across social media outlets. New Content Media quickly posted articles aimed at connecting Snyder to Epstein. Snyder stated in his court filings that the accusations were “utterly untrue” and without a “legitimate journalistic basis whatsoever.” He referred to the articles posted as “false and defamatory.”

While Snyder’s legal team acted swiftly, a great deal of destruction was already done. The company was threatened with legal action and quickly responded by removing the posts. However, the content had already spread across the blogosphere. Before the articles were removed, they had been linked in 22 more articles, creating over 160 million impressions on readers. The $10 million lawsuits filed against New Content Media seek to not only receive financial compensation for the resulted damage but also to identify the third parties that contracted them to create the articles. While some were posted anonymously on the popular forum Reddit, finding the source of the baseless claims is a top priority. If someone paid to have these articles circulated, Snyder wants to hold that person accountable. Snyder’s lawyer, Rizwan A. Qureshi said, “He intends to hold all of those responsible for this defamation accountable and will donate any proceeds recovered in the lawsuit to charity.”

According to court documents obtained by the New York Times, Nirnay Chowdgary of New Content Media responded by stating “They are trying to force us to give us some name of someone but we have no name to give to them. This person does not exist.”

The widely speculated Washington Post article that initiated rumors about the Washington Football franchise turned out to be in regard to 15 women that came forward with allegations of systemic sexual harassment. The women accused a number of men in the organization, but Dan Snyder was not one of them. Nothing regarding Epstein was mentioned in the Washington Post article.

 Attorney Qureshi said, “While Mr. Snyder understands that truthful criticism about the Washington Football Team comes with the territory of owning the team, malicious criminal allegations cross the line.”

The filing of these lawsuits affirms Snyder is trying to reclaim his narrative after a long run of media scrutiny.  He is understandably working hard to clear his name so he can focus on the team. The franchise has reached a major turning point in their history, with an announcement to replace the controversial name. The decision to make the change sparks an opportunity for the team to reinvent themselves. After a long string of drama for the NFL Washington franchise, Snyder has expressed his commitment to a ‘culture change’ within his organization. They currently referred to as the Washington Football Team while the final name is chosen. Fans are hoping the name removal will mark an end of rough times for them. Snyder’s recent decision to hire acclaimed Coach Ron Rivera was another move that inspired optimism for Washington fans and showed hope for the team’s redemption.