Team Embarrasses DC; Owner Shames NFL

Let’s say you are the billionnaire owner of a professional sports team in the Nations Capital and its name is a racial slur. Let’s say your ownership has been marked by losing seasons, bad personnel decisions, and ill-treatment of fans. So what do you do? Sue publications that point these things out. Channel 9 sportscaster Brett Haber reacts:

 

 “…Those who’ve reviewed Snyder’s case find his claims of slander to be little more than trumped-up charges over a farcically-written opinion piece. This isn’t Russia. You don’t get to stifle what the media says just because it paints you in a negative light….

But even more repugnant is the fact that Snyder has threatened to use his wallet to intimidate the newspaper into backing down…

…in a letter to the newspaper’s owners, Snyder’s lawyer David Donovan said, “Mr. Snyder has more than sufficient means to protect his reputation… We presume that defending such litigation would not be a rational strategy for (you because)… The cost of litigation would quickly outstrip the asset value of the Washington City Paper“…

…In other words — you can’t afford to defend this lawsuit — we’re richer than you, so fire the author and give up. To their credit, The City Paper has no plans to do either.”

 Watch the full commentary here (full text here).

 Updates:

“Dan Snyder lawsuit: A complete analysis,” Andrew Beaujon and Erik Wemple, TBD.com

 “Memo to Dan Snyder: Thank you for your stewardship of the Redskins,” Gene Weingarten, Washington Post

 Washington City Paper Legal Defense Fund

 “What is Dan Snyder Thinking?” Monte Burke, Forbes blog

 “Fact-Checking the Dan Snyder lawsuit,” Kevin Robillard, TBD.com

Image (“New Washington NFL Uniform”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Tags: Brett Haber, Dan Snyder, Daniel Snyder, football, Haber, NFL, Redskins, sports, Washington City Paper, Washington DC, Washington Redskins