AceShowbiz - Dan Snyder has adamantly denied sexual harassment allegations made by his former employees and cheerleaders from the NFL's Washington Commanders on Capitol Hill. In his statement, the NFL team owner said that the accusations are "outright lies."

On Thursday, February 3, the 57-year-old issued a statement via his representative. "I have acknowledged and apologized multiple times in the past for the misconduct which took place at the Team and the harm suffered by some of our valued employees," he began.

"I apologize again today for this conduct, and fully support the people who have been victimized and have come forward to tell their stories," Dan added. The businessman continued, "While past conduct at the Team was unacceptable, the allegations leveled against me personally in today's roundtable - many of which are well over 13 years old - are outright lies."

The statement added, "I unequivocally deny having participated in any such conduct, at any time and with respect to any person." He went on saying, "Tanya [his wife] and I will not be distracted by those with a contrary agenda from continuing with the positive personnel and cultural changes that have been made at the Team over the past 18 months and those that we continue to make both on and off the field."

Elsewhere in his statement, Dan explained that "the Team, on its own, undertook to revamp its policies, procedures and personnel" in response to learning about the sexual harassment incidents which happened in 2020. He further stressed, "Real change has been made and employees of the Team have confirmed the vast improvement in Team culture over the past 18 months."

Dan's response came after his former female employees and cheerleaders detailed their accusations against him at a House Oversight Committee roundtable. The women alleged that Dan once asked staff to compile lewd video clips of cheerleaders without their knowledge or consent. They also added new claims of unwanted sexual touching.

The first to speak was Melanie Coburn, a former cheerleader and marketing department employee, who accused Dan of selecting women to be part of the organization for their physical appearance and not for their work talent. Tiffani Johnston, also a former cheerleader, claimed that Dan touched her inner thigh under the table during a team dinner before inappropriately touching her lower back.

One of the accusers, Ana Nunez, former business development coordinator for eight years, said that throughout her time working for the Washington team she lived in constant fear of sexual harassment. Meanwhile, Brad Baker, former video production manager, revealed that in 2008 Dan asked for a video of cheerleader highlights without censoring the women's accidental nudity.

The six witnesses and more than 40 former employees who testified are being represented by attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz. On Thursday, the lawyers said in their statement that the testimonies were "an important first step in holding the Washington Football Team, and workplaces across the nation, accountable for the mistreatment of female employees."

Lisa and Debra continued that attempts to avoid accountability will not be tolerated by Congress. "Today's Roundtable sent the message that Congress will not tolerate attempts to evade accountability from one of the most prominent workplaces in the nation," the statement added.

Dan was handed a $10 million fine last July by the NFL after the football organization conducted a yearlong investigation into the franchise's work environment. During the investigation in 2020, it's also reported that Dan's team paid $1.6 million to a former employee in 2009 to settle a sexual misconduct claim against the owner, though neither Dan nor the team acknowledged any wrongdoing in the agreement.