Cardinals employees accuse Michael Bidwill of creating toxic culture of 'fear,' per report
Employees of the Arizona Cardinals allege team owner Michael Bidwill has created a toxic culture of "fear" in the workplace, describing the atmosphere as “outdated, archaic, constricted" for female employees, The Athletic reported Thursday.
The Athletic's story featured accusations from at least a dozen current and former team employees. The report comes on the heels of Bidwill being accused earlier this year of mistreating Black and pregnant employees, allegedly using a burner phone to communicate with a suspended front-office official and the team receiving poor workplace grades from the NFL Players Association.
The report also detailed an employment survey that was handed out in 2019 and later "disappeared into thin air" because it painted Bidwill in such an unfavorable light.
Cardinals staff had no outlet to raise concerns, as there was no dedicated HR director from 2008 until 2021 and no fully staffed HR department until 2022, according to the report. Even with an HR department, some employees were reportedly scared to lose their jobs if they spoke out.
Alleged discrimination against women
Former employees reportedly described unwritten policies about how women should dress and interact with male football personnel and players. They were also allegedly prohibited from going to certain places in the building.
The organization allegedly went as far as corralling many women in one part of the office that was eventually obstructed from the passing view by a wall that was erected to "cut down on hallway traffic.” This reportedly occurred after a coach was seen speaking to a female staffer for too long.
The claims were reportedly rebutted as "largely urban myths and old news," by Shaun Mayo, the chief people officer hired in July 2021.
Bidwill allegedly mistreated employees, covered up survey
Former chief operating officer Ron Minegar was arrested for extreme DUI in August 2019. Bidwill reportedly yelled at him during a Mothers Against Drunk Driving presentation in the team auditorium a month later. Several employees in the audience recalled Bidwill telling Minegar: “I wanted to fire your ass" and "Don't f***** do it again," according to the report.
Two weeks before Minegar left his job of 20 years in January 2020, he reportedly delivered a three-page letter to Bidwill that referenced the 2019 employment survey.
“We learned that a majority of our employees are working in fear,” Minegar reportedly wrote to Bidwill in the letter, adding that the franchise owner "shut the study down" instead of trying to change things.
In April, former Cardinals front-office executive Terry McDonough filed an arbitration claim with the NFL alleging that Bidwill orchestrated and demanded the use of burner phones to communicate with then-general manager Steve Keim while Keim was serving a league-imposed suspension for extreme DUI in 2018. McDonough also accused Bidwill of mistreating pregnant and Black employees. His demand for arbitration referenced the survey, per The Athletic.
”Bidwill’s workplace misconduct is so pervasive and toxic, that he halted a 2019 corporate cultural assessment of the Cardinals organization that was being conducted by an outside consulting firm after an expansive initial round of employee responses criticized the Cardinals’ woeful culture and placed most of the blame on Bidwill," McDonough wrote.
A team spokesperson responded to The Athletic, claiming that the survey was not ignored and inspired multiple initiatives, including hiring a chief people officer.
In August, Steve Wilks, who served as head coach of the Cardinals during the 2018 season, gave a testimony that supported McDonough's allegations, claiming that he was mistreated by Bidwell and pressured into breaking league rules, while also witnessing racist mistreatment of other staffers
Employees who spoke with The Athletic offered these examples of things that would garner a strong reaction from Bidwill:
A squeaky wheel on an office cart
A woman laughing too loudly
A woman walking too slowly
An employee having the incorrect area code
Lighting in the office
Bidwill issued a statement to The Athletic regarding the recent allegations:
"I certainly have room to grow," it said, in part. "With the benefit of hindsight, I would have done some things differently over the years. I also know that my direct approach doesn’t always land well, and I’m working on that. I have always been driven by the desire to learn and improve and more importantly, to use those lessons in building the best organization possible."
