'Unprofessional & Unacceptable': NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Testifies on Commanders

Even though Washington Commanders owner Daniel Synder declined twice to testify at Wednesday's House of Representatives Oversight Committee hearing, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell accepted the invitation and had a lot to say in his opening testimony.

"It is clear to me that the workplace in Washington was unprofessional and unacceptable in numerous respects: bullying, widespread disrespect toward colleagues, use of demeaning language, public embarrassment, and harassment," Goodell said in his opening remarks.

During the testimony, Goodell explained the process of the current investigation from the past two years and shared briefly how the Commanders and the league are looking to improve workplace culture after these allegations were made by a number of former Washington employees, some of whom have shared their experience publicly in front of the Committee.

After the testimony, Goodell is set to be questioned by the Committee as he testifies in his role as commissioner on the workplace misconduct alleged to be going on inside the Commanders organization.

While Goodell testifies, more of a message is being sent by Snyder choosing not to testify, despite being accommodated by the Committee.

“The committee has been more than accommodating - even allowing Mr. Snyder to testify remotely from France,” the House Oversight Committee spokesperson said in the statement. “His refusal to testify sends an unmistakable signal that Mr. Snyder has something to hide and is afraid of coming clean to the American public and addressing major worker protection concerns facing the NFL. The Committee will not be deterred in its investigation to uncover the truth of workplace misconduct at the Washington Commanders.”

Additionally, there is now a report that Snyder in 2009 paid an accuser a $1.6 million settlement.