Report: Buffalo Bills And Sabres President Resigned After Misconduct Investigation

Pegula Sports & Entertainment—the company that owns the Buffalo Bills, Sabres, and several smaller New York sports teams— announced the resignation of its president, Russ Brandon, on Tuesday. According to the , Brandon’s resignation came following “an internal investigation into Brandon’s workplace behavior and allegations of personal misconduct.” From the report:

(Co-owner) Kim Pegula on Friday informed Brandon an internal investigation was being conducted. Two sources with knowledge of the investigation said it was triggered by allegations of inappropriate relationships with female employees.

When confronted by Kim Pegula, the sources said, Brandon denied any such relationships, but the investigation indicated he was deceitful about that and other job-related issues that were uncovered.

Brandon told the that he had been “been contemplating transitioning out of (his) role for some time,” and that the timing seemed right for the move. But he did not speak about the alleged relationships. Brandon had been with the Bills since 1997, climbing the corporate ladder until he became CEO in 2010 along with team president in 2013. The Pegula family, who already owned the Sabres, bought the Bills in 2014, and Brandon also took over as Sabres president in 2015.

The NFL is already facing allegations of sexual harassment at both its cable network and within the Carolina Panthers organization, where team owner Jerry Richardson has been accused of habitually harassing his female employees. Richardson is expected to sell his team this offseason.