Snyder accuses Washington minority owner of extortion

Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder says he is the victim of an extortion attempt by one of the team's minority owners, according to court documents filed in Maryland on Wednesday and accessed by ESPN's John Keim.

The court filing comes a day after it was reported the franchise paid a woman who used to work for the team $1.6 million in 2009 as part of a confidential settlement in a sexual misconduct claim against Snyder.

It was also reported this week that Snyder is blocking the club's three minority owners - Fred Smith, Dwight Schar, and Robert Rothman - from selling a 40% stake in the team for $900 million. Snyder identified Schar as the owner attempting to extort him.

"I firmly believe that plaintiff's motion and supplemental filing and the news articles that they have generated are the latest in the effort to extort me," read Snyder's recent court filing.

He also alleges that the negative articles are an attempt "to smear me in an effort to gain leverage in this business dispute."

The three minority owners reportedly pressured Snyder to sell the franchise in August, though tensions existed prior to the offseason.

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