As published in The County Times (http://countytimes.somd.com) in Feb 2011
By Ronald N. Guy Jr.
Had enough of Daniel Snyder this week? I hope not. I’m betting a few lonely
emotion-stirring threads of optimism remain to be severed by Tyrannical Rex
himself before you’re sent plummeting helplessly into the deepest depths of
despair his horrendous ownership has repeatedly wrought upon the ‘Skins
franchise. If he’s broken your will and
you must abort immediately, I completely understand. But, if you’re still clinging to something, and you dare to risk
forever blackening the faint flickers of hope, then stay with me. I’ll try to get to the point quickly (think
whiskey, not beer).
This disclaimer was necessary of course because Snyder
finally found a way to be newsworthy during Super Bowl week. He accomplished this ultimate quest not by
leading his franchise to the big game (let’s not get crazy), but by dropping a
well-publicized lawsuit on a D.C. newspaper for publishing a Snyder-scathing
article. Now I won’t belabor this
thoroughly covered situation further than to say Snyder’s lawsuit contends the
article contained inaccurate information and anti-Semitic content that was
libelous and defaming. If you need more
gouge than that, there are plenty of “Dan Snyder lawsuit” exits off the
information superhighway. More
intriguing than the lawsuit and healthy reaction to it is trying to figure out
how in the world this came to pass and what to take from it.
Snyder could have played this hand countless different
ways. A lawsuit was absolutely an
option; only Snyder knows how this article impacted him and it’s his right to
protect his reputation against any attack.
But even if he wins the case he’ll lose resoundingly in the court of
public opinion. Snyder’s decisions
shouldn’t be governed by what’s popular, necessarily, but the buying patterns
of the general public, the backbone of his business, are influenced by the
prevailing perception of the organization.
Frankly, if season tickets were available, I’d pass, primarily because
of Snyder. The lawsuit insures that he
comes off as more unlikable: the billionaire bully strong-arming the media,
just because he can. He would have been
more effective in advancing his point and business by using the media resources
he owns to express his outrage and tell his side of the story.
And the timing is just horrible. The organization has worked hard to restore its credibility and
faith in ownership by completely renovating its football staff (ousting Jim
Zorn and Vinny Cerrato and hiring Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen) and chain of
command (Snyder claims he’s relinquished football decisions). This lawsuit completely undermines the
campaign to redefine Snyder and the ‘Skins.
Worse yet, it just seems a tacky move by one of the most powerful men in
D.C. In a recent interview Snyder
offered a principled defense of his actions by saying, “what’s right is right
and what’s wrong is wrong” and that this editorial was just wrong. Interesting comment from an insensitive
owner who knows the name of his franchise is offensive to Native Americans but
clearly doesn’t care. In another ironic
twist, I received a Valentine’s Day promotional email this week from the ‘Skins
titled “Love Is In The Air”. Seriously.
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