Welcome to Washington, Ron Rivera.
The NFL team hired Rivera as its head coach Dec. 31. In the six months since, he has become the voice and face of the franchise.
Owner Daniel Snyder declined several requests from The Washington Post for an interview before the newspaper’s investigative story published Thursday alleging widespread sexual harassment within the organization.
Fifteen women who worked for the NFL team detail the franchise’s toxic culture.
Rivera was quoted in the story, saying, “We’re trying to create a new culture here. We’re hoping to get people to understand that they need to judge us on where we are and where we’re going, as opposed to where we’ve been.”
He said more to local reporters Thursday night.
“Biggest thing is 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, via Ben Standig of TheAthletic.com. “Plus my daughter works for the team and I sure as hell am not going to allow any of this!
“Dan Snyder brought me here to change culture and create an environment of inclusion among employees. I believe everyone that works for this franchise has a vested interest in our success.”
Rivera has his hands full, perhaps more so than he envisioned when he took the job, as he tries to turn around the team on the field and change the culture inside the facility.
The organization has hired attorney Beth Wilkinson to review the team’s culture.