@panzade,
panzade wrote:
Simple solution. Pay Snyder 50 million for lost revenue in a name change.
Voila. Problem solved.
Another simple solution is for people to put things in perspective. It's a football team. All the protests seems to be causing Snyder to dig in his heels, and they're not even shared by the majority of the people who are supposed to be offended by the name.
Redskin merchandise revenues declined last year, and more than any other teams (around 45%), but that's typical for a team that fails to make the playoffs. The Ravens revenue dropped around 35%. If enough people agree that the team name should be changed, it will eventually hit Snyder in the pocketbook and
may cause him to find a way to change it and still save face. The problem is that a lot of these teams are the toys of very rich individuals who are OK with making less money or even, in some cases, losing money. The financial hit on Snyder will have to be pretty big before he considers changing the name or selling the team to someone who might.
Any conceivable alternative that involves the government stepping in and forcing him to change the name is abhorrent.
When Charlotte got its first b-ball team, the Hornets, the city put its owner, George Schinn, on a pedestal, even though he was a shady character who made the fortune necessary to buy the expansion rights through private technical "colleges" that scammed the government for aid money. The Hornets, though, became his only source of revenue, and so it's management was a lot different than say billionaire Mark Cuban's for whom the Mavericks are a passionate hobby. If Schinn paid Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning the money they wanted, that was money coming directly out of his lifestyle. As a result of running it more like a conventional business and keeping expenses down, the team got worse, and Schinn eventually became a loathed figure in Charlotte.
Fans are fickle.
