Coming soon: the NFL's D.C. Cabs?

Again, the issue here isn't primarily legal, it's the drip, drip, drip of political water torture aimed at convincing the NFL the name is too hot to hold. If the name is held to be derogatory as a matter of law, that's more like a drenching than a drip.

 

He's not going to change until he's forced to do so. Since I doubt Goodell will force him to do it, I'm guessing every legal avenue will have to be exhausted before he does anything.

It's not even clear who has the authority to force him to change the team name? Does Goodell have that authority? If he does, I'll bet he could be challenged on it.

 

That could be the basis of Roger Goodell forcing Snyder to sell the team.

Some of the same reasoning used by Adam Silver to force Clips sale. It was
hurting the rest of the NBA.

 

How about we talk about the fact that Dan Snyder spent $800 million to buy a football team named the Washington REDSKINS rooted in (at the time) 62 years of tradition and history based, largely, on the name, market and look of the franchise?
I mean, we can all pretend that changing the name of the franchise doesn't change its history and its worth but it sure the hell does. The Washington Generals, Warriors, Fighters, etc are not worth anything near what the Washington Redskins are worth. That's just a fact.
If the New York Yankees changed their name to the New York Sluggers or Bronx Bombers or some other generic bullshit, the value of their name and franchise would drop dramatically, as I'm no doubt sure it will here IF overly sensitive idiots have their way.
I'd be curious to see just how large the impact of changing the Bullets to the Wizards was but I imagine it was noticeable and if you don't think a franchise's history and name matter, not only are you an idiot but you clearly haven't been paying attention to how excited people in Charlotte are that their basketball team is going back to the Hornets moniker.
History matters and has a huge impact on how a sports franchise is received. Forcing a change simply because some people are offended at a team name that's been around for far longer than most of the people who are offended have been alive is ludicrous.
I hope Snyder digs in and tells each and every person outraged over this to get a life and find something better to do with their time.

 

Not all Native American names are bad. In fact, most aren't.
http://ronclements.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-name-redskins-is-bad-but-not-all.html

 

That's a great point and a deal that the NFL obviously approved.

Part of valuation would be the goodwill tied up in Redskin name.

 

It's a tough comparison. I hate feeling any level of sympathy for Snyder, but he bought the "Redskins" and I would understand his hesitation to change the name of a franchise that has the second-largest value in the NFL. Would the Washington Nationals NFL franchise have the same value as the Washington Redskins?

It might not make a difference. I think he should change the name, but I don't completely blame him for fighting it for business reasons.

 

Does any seriously think FedEx Field and DC talk-radio won't be filled with football fans if the team were the Washington Anything Elses?

The value is that it's an NFL team in Washington, with an amazingly rabid fan base. I'm sure the fans would get over a name change in fairly short order.

 

Well, there's no precedent. So nobody knows. Has an established franchise with a long history changed it's name in the last 50 years and not as a result of a relocation? It's hard to compare the Devil Rays to the Redskins.

This is the equivalent of telling the Yankees, Red Sox, Lakers, Celtics, Cowboys to change their name.

None of that means he shouldn't do it, but it's easy to understand why he doesn't want to.

 

Tell me again how that worked out for the Charlotte Bobcats.

 

Someone was interviewed about this on DC talk radio this morning. I can't remember who it was. Anyhoo, the guy basically any reasonable estimate you can find will put the cost of rebranding the team at about $20 million, at most. The Redskins' operating income is at least five times that, PER YEAR.

Plus, the Redskins are like the fifth most valuable team in all of sports. Forbes valued it at $1.7 billion. I'm pretty sure it has the longest season-ticket waiting list in the NFL. Are you really saying it's going to lose value if the name changes?

And, once more, "because tradition" is the weakest argument you can make. It's a stupid sports team. Tradition means nothing.

 

I'm not sure the nickname is nearly as iconic as Yankees, Red Sox, Lakers, Celtics and Cowboys. For one thing, it's been taking a beating for 20 years. Even those fans who are in love with the nickname have had to contemplate the idea that it won't exist in the future. And I don't know that Washington as a team has the national and international recognition all those franchises do.