UPDATE: Sep 10, 2011, 8:27 PM, CSNWashington reports that Snyder drops City Paper suit. Good. Now Snyder can be spared further embarrassment. The article contains a statement by Tony Wyllie, Redskins p.r. executive essentially declaring victory and going home. Now we can get on to football. I encourage Messrs. Snyder and Wyllie to read the tips at the end of this story for the 21st-Century way to influence the public and control your image.
The sharp-eyed folks at DC Pro Sports Report came across a New York Times Magazine interview of Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. PennSkinFan wrote it up in a post he titled Dan Snyder ‘possibly’ made mistake suing Washington City Paper. Possibly? Definitely according to every Redskins blogger in town.
But, I digress.
Snyder admits in the interview that he did not read the offending City Paper article The Cranky Redskins Fan’s Guide to Dan Snyder.
Umm?
That alone is destined to be item No. 62 in The Cranky Fan’s Guide of The Danny’s miscues. The DCPSR story alludes to Snyder coming close to admitting that he perhaps might possibly could have been maybe mistaken to sue the City Paper, but did not cite the actual reference. They couldn’t get past the part where Snyder admits he did not read The Cranky Guide, I guess. Here is the relevant passage:
“Had you not sued, I [the NYT interviewer] probably wouldn’t have come across the piece. Do you think it was a tactical error to sue them?
“Possibly. But at the end of the day, you can’t call someone a criminal when they’re absolutely not. What’s right is right, and what’s wrong is wrong. And I think they were just wrong. I mean, all we asked for, and continue to, is a simple apology, a simple correction.”
Hmm.
I don’t see an acknowledgement of possible error when I read Snyder’s full response. Don’t look for the lawsuit to quietly go away. (Surprise to me. It did go away.)
One never knows how a judge will rule in these things. I believe that Snyder must show how he has lost business because of the article in order to collect damages. Snyder’s vaunted legal machine successfully defended the use of the team name against a series of lawsuits filed by Suzan Harjo and a small group of Native Americans. From a public relations standpoint, however, the City Paper suit is a disaster. The more that comes out about it, the more foolish it seems…and the more Web traffic flows to The City Paper.
Here’s a tip for Snyder and for Tony Wyllie, his p.r. executive. Don’t fight the social media wave. Own it.
Open a Real Daniel Snyder account on Twitter and build a following. You own the Washington Redskins. You will get a following. You might get flamed after every loss. So what? We’re losing. Engage your following anyway than they will love you for it. Best practice: Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, @JimIrsay. Football, guitar, life and more.
Open your own Facebook page and share something about yourself. Best practice: Former-Redskin Phillip Daniels, thatboyphil. Do ya know that son, DeVaris, plays for Notre Dame and that Phil started a fantasy league? I know because he’s my friend. (You scouting DeVaris, by the way?)
Start your “From The Desk Of Dan Snyder” blog on Redskins.com. And no fluff piece on Redskins Charities. Share what you think about life and fans and, yes, even football. Best practice: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, http://blogmaverick.com/. Always an interesting read. If you don’t know what to say, Matt Terl can help you. Oh, wait….
Ted Leonsis does this with great p.r. success without suing newspapers, or grandmas. Better yet, His public persona is independent of his teams’ performance.
C’mon. Be Dan the Man instead of…. Well, you get the idea.
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