Sheryl Sandberg only spoke for herself. She did not mention her knowledge of what other people in Facebook did. She only said that she, personally, didn't agree to the agreement on behalf of the company. She did not say that Facebook didn't have an agreement, only that she did not ever agree to one.
This is an important fact when looking at the evidence. She is only going to say enough of what she needs to say in terms of the lawsuit. The burden of proof of the law suit has to prove that Facebook had one - she could only speak about her own involvement. There was nothing about the other people at the top of the company - and in Law - nothing equals nothing.
Abstract away from the people. At the time, it was simply not in Facebooks best interest to enter into such an agreement - at their ridiculous growth, they got lots of money and needed to put it into top talent, which means they need to aggressively recruit. If you then enter into an agreement not to recruit from many top companies in the valley - that hurts your chances.
It's not that Facebook is the only ethical company in this, it is just that at the time there was no upside for them in it.
This is an important fact when looking at the evidence. She is only going to say enough of what she needs to say in terms of the lawsuit. The burden of proof of the law suit has to prove that Facebook had one - she could only speak about her own involvement. There was nothing about the other people at the top of the company - and in Law - nothing equals nothing.