Cardinals internal memo: Focused on improving culture amid misconduct allegations

The Arizona Cardinals said they are taking steps toward improving the work environment for their employees through a series of internal “listening sessions” in a memo obtained by Arizona Sports.

The all-staff memo sent by chief people officer Shaun Mayo details the steps Arizona has told employees it will be making amid allegations of cheating and misconduct levied by ex-executive Terry McDonough in an arbitration claim filed April 4 against owner Michael Bidwill and the Cardinals.

The Cardinals have since refuted McDonough’s claims.

The NFL has reportedly hired former chief legal officer for the NBA Jeffrey Mishkin as the hearing officer on the matter, per ESPN.

In recent weeks, the team held 32 combined listening sessions with more than 150 employees, leading to numerous changes it is planning to roll out, according to the memo.

Those include increased work flexibility, pay review and regular cadence of all-staff connection points, among other improvements.

Mayo added these steps “are just the beginning” as the team looks to move forward.

In addition to the in-house review, the memo states the Cardinals are in the process of hiring an independent consultant to further assess the team policies and culture. The consultant potentially could provide other recommendations for the franchise.

The news of the planned improvements comes during Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft, where the Cardinals are coming off selecting Ohio State offensive lineman Paris John with the sixth overall pick on Thursday night following a pair of trades orchestrated by new general manager Monti Ossenfort.

The GM continued to wheel and deal on Day 2, facilitating two more trades and adding LSU edge BJ Ojulari (No. 41 overall), Syracuse CB Garrett Williams (No. 72) and Stanford wide receiver Mike Wilson (No. 94).

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