Report: Michael Bidwill, Cardinals Accused of Toxic Culture by Multiple Employees | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill allegedly presided over a toxic culture of fear throughout the course of his tenure running the organization, according to former and current employees who spoke with Kalyn Kahler of The Athletic.

Bidwell was told by former COO Ron Minegar in 2019 that "a majority" of Cardinals employees were "working in fear" because of the workplace conditions created by his behavior.

Bidwill is described as a micromanager who yelled at employees over seemingly minor transgressions, creating a culture where workers felt like they were "walking on eggshells."

"You would think being an entertainment sports team that it would be a fun place to work. No, not at all," one employee said.

Bidwill reportedly involved himself in minor day-to-day tasks, expressing frustration over the area code of an employee's cell phone number and yelling at an employee who turned off the office's fluorescent lighting in favor of softer light.

"People just didn't say anything. They complain under their breath, and they go into their car at lunch and they cry," an employee said.

The team did not have a dedicated human resources director from 2008 until 2021, which only furthered the culture of silence. When the Cardinals sent out an employee survey in 2019, Bidwill was torn "to shreds" but the team allegedly went radio silent in its aftermath. One employee said the survey "disappeared into thin air," and former team executive Terry McDonough accused Bidwill of burying its results in a lawsuit.

The team released a statement to The Athletic saying the results of the survey were taken into account despite their results not being made available to employees.

"The 2019 survey was not ignored. In fact, significant action was taken based on its feedback, the most prominent of which was the creation of the Chief People Officer role," the team said. "Some changes were immediate, like the employee wellness initiatives announced in February of 2020, just weeks before COVID shut down the country. Others took longer as a result of the pandemic."

Bidwill also responded to allegations made by employees, saying he has "room to grow" and he's working on being a better leader.

"As I have said personally to every member of the Cardinals organization, I certainly have room to grow and with the benefit of hindsight, would have done some things differently over the years," Bidwill said. "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. Over the last several years, we have taken significant steps to improve our culture and build a stronger community. We are a better and more inclusive organization today than we were yesterday and I'm extremely excited about what we can be tomorrow."

The report also accuses the team of putting in an unwritten culture regarding the behavior of female employees, particularly regarding how they dress and frowning on them speaking to players and coaches—even when the players/coaches initiate the conversation.

"It felt like I was walking on eggshells," one former employee said. "Am I okay to be here? Oh my God, what if someone sees me here? You're just doing your job and trying to walk around the building in which you work and feeling like, 'Oh, I can't be on this side.'"

The team denied there was ever an official policy in place restricting the behavior of female employees. Shaun Mayo, the Cardinals' Chief People Officer, said the unwritten rules were "urban myths and old news."