Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA, via Shutterstock
After news broke Thursday that there were accusations of rampant sexual harassment within the Washington N.F.L. franchise, several colleagues at women’s organizations hopped on their group chat.
None of them were surprised that The Washington Post reported that 15 women brought harassment claims against male co-workers. Some members of the group chat had previously counseled the N.F.L. on workplace culture issues and all were familiar with how difficult it could be to nudge the male-dominated pro football industry forward.
“If the leadership was OK with a disrespectful, racist and objectifying team name, it wasn’t really a stretch to think that it was going to be translated into the workplace culture there,” said Linda Seabrook, general counsel and director of workplace safety and equity for Futures Without Violence, referring to the team’s long battle against changing its name, which Native Americans (and many dictionaries) consider to be a slur.