NFL: Washington Football Team now the Washington Commanders

[John Price]

Well, the thing is, those "sponsors" were a-ok with the "R" name for years. As far as a hit to the bottom line, I highly doubt the team's name was a significant worry. People are going to Fedex their stuff regardless, especially when at the time, the pandemic upped the delivery volume. Plus, the team was already irrelevant to outsiders. If Snyder lost fans, it's because he whipped up his own reputation as a clueless rich boy with lots of money but no understanding of how to build a winner, while also running a workplace with a toxic culture that undermined his coaches.

Dan Snyder's forte is precisely marketing. He knows the tricks to attract attention. By extension, he would also know "bad marketing" and not getting attention. The crap he allowed and possibly did personally could be very well in Harvey Weinstein territory but the public reaction is nowhere near that firestorm because he utilized "bad marketing" intentionally.

The interim name, "Washington Football Team" had the connotations of "joke" and even an illegitimate or "minor league" football team. That psychological response is exactly what someone who wants to hide wants, especially since they hung on to the name until the next convenient time. People register "team without a name", laugh at it, and then just move on.


The unveiling of the "Commanders" name was on a hearing day where Snyder would be personally implicated and accused, with more than just the woman victim, but another male organizational insider.

The Brian Flores suit also appears "independent", but the lawyers hammered out the filing and filed that in extremely rapid time for lawyers(less than 3 business days at most).

The combination of events basically dilute the coverage in the media on the airwaves on Feb 2 and the days before and after. Fewer ears hear the news and some pay attention to the news that they are more personally invested in.

Remember the outrage happened after the wokeness of the BLM movement. After that people started getting angrier over the name, angry enough that sponsors dropped. The second Nike took Washington R-words gear off their site, and FedEx started sending strongly worded letters condemning the name, the name was changed. It's a coincidence, it's not a coverup. It was done solely because of the sponsors.

I follow this team for a living. Trust me on this.

And a last rejoinder to the "Big Lie" that Washington changed it's name to deflect from internal struggle in the organization, around the same time that protestors wanted the name changed, the Cleveland REDACTED changed their name too. There were also cries to change the Braves, Chiefs, and BlackHawks names. It was not just a Washington thing. BLM was a great movement that raised awareness for the plight of minorities. Nobody can deny that. But it also spurned iprotests on team names that many construed as offensive, such as R-words and REDACTED.

 

[John Price]

#ThankYouDan

 

[GKJ]

Remember the outrage happened after the wokeness of the BLM movement. After that people started getting angrier over the name, angry enough that sponsors dropped. The second Nike took Washington R-words gear off their site, and FedEx started sending strongly worded letters condemning the name, the name was changed. It's a coincidence, it's not a coverup. It was done solely because of the sponsors.

I follow this team for a living. Trust me on this.

And a last rejoinder to the "Big Lie" that Washington changed it's name to deflect from internal struggle in the organization, around the same time that protestors wanted the name changed, the Cleveland REDACTED changed their name too. There were also cries to change the Braves, Chiefs, and BlackHawks names. It was not just a Washington thing. BLM was a great movement that raised awareness for the plight of minorities. Nobody can deny that. But it also spurned iprotests on team names that many construed as offensive, such as R-words and REDACTED.

None of this even makes sense. BLM, by definition, was/is about being BLACK. If anything they used the cover of BLM hoping fewer people would notice. But the whole idea of wokeness is that it’s frivolous, so by actual action being taken regardless of the reasons, inherently cannot be woke. People have been talking about it for 30 years, they could’ve just as easily kept ignoring it, but there was something in it for them to react.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I saw someone wearing a Commanders t-shirt the other day. First time since they changed the name that I've seen any sign of the Commanders anywhere in the area. FWIW the number of times I saw anyone with "Washington Football Team" gear last year is probably 1 or 2 as well.

You still see the occasional Redskins gear, but I would say it's like 65% Nats 20% Caps and 15% combined Redskins/Wizards/O's/Ravens gear as far as local teams go. You of course always get a lot of out of town gear here.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Remember the outrage happened after the wokeness of the BLM movement. After that people started getting angrier over the name, angry enough that sponsors dropped. The second Nike took Washington R-words gear off their site, and FedEx started sending strongly worded letters condemning the name, the name was changed. It's a coincidence, it's not a coverup. It was done solely because of the sponsors.

I follow this team for a living. Trust me on this.

And a last rejoinder to the "Big Lie" that Washington changed it's name to deflect from internal struggle in the organization, around the same time that protestors wanted the name changed, the Cleveland REDACTED changed their name too. There were also cries to change the Braves, Chiefs, and BlackHawks names. It was not just a Washington thing. BLM was a great movement that raised awareness for the plight of minorities. Nobody can deny that. But it also spurned iprotests on team names that many construed as offensive, such as R-words and REDACTED.

That privacy exists does not mean what goes on unnoticed does not happen. My medical records are private. Doesn't mean I don't have a record at all. Just that no one is supposed to know. Privacy makes it difficult for outside parties to act on hard evidence. But outside parties are free to speculate.

Back-channelling is a thing in business and politics. I would not be surprised if Snyder gave instruction to those very "investor groups" to sign such letters to make himself bleed but not be mortally wounded. He avoided wholesale public evisceration a la past offenders like Weinstein and Epstein(who also happen to be Jewish). As a member of the 1%er club, Snyder can find others in that community rather easily.

Name changes often occur to hide tracks.

The team paid money to register not only the final name, but a number of proposed names, like Redtails or Redhawk. Each probably cost a non-refundable fee. Drop in the bucket? Perhaps. But Dan Snyder didn't make money being carefree and reckless with cash, so to him, the loss of $25 is mentally taxing to him.



Let's move to something neutral in content. Logisticare changed their actual company name to "Modivcare". When a business changes their name, they have to pay money to file the paperwork. Thus, the costs of the name outweight the benefits, and in the case of Modivcare, that is likely that they simply hung people needing care out to dry, which then prompted lawsuits.

 

[John Price]

None of this even makes sense. BLM, by definition, was/is about being BLACK. If anything they used the cover of BLM hoping fewer people would notice. But the whole idea of wokeness is that it’s frivolous, so by actual action being taken regardless of the reasons, inherently cannot be woke. People have been talking about it for 30 years, they could’ve just as easily kept ignoring it, but there was something in it for them to react.

It's documented that BLM led to further social awareness online and that is when protestors took opportunity of the gains made through BLM to fight for social justice of other "oppressed" leading to the change of the Washington name. Again, it is DIRECTLY linked to sponsors complaining about the name. Trust me. I spend all day on the Washington football forum ExtremeSkins. This is what happened.

That privacy exists does not mean what goes on unnoticed does not happen. My medical records are private. Doesn't mean I don't have a record at all. Just that no one is supposed to know. Privacy makes it difficult for outside parties to act on hard evidence. But outside parties are free to speculate.

Back-channelling is a thing in business and politics. I would not be surprised if Snyder gave instruction to those very "investor groups" to sign such letters to make himself bleed but not be mortally wounded. He avoided wholesale public evisceration a la past offenders like Weinstein and Epstein(who also happen to be Jewish). As a member of the 1%er club, Snyder can find others in that community rather easily.

Name changes often occur to hide tracks.

The team paid money to register not only the final name, but a number of proposed names, like Redtails or Redhawk. Each probably cost a non-refundable fee. Drop in the bucket? Perhaps. But Dan Snyder didn't make money being carefree and reckless with cash, so to him, the loss of $25 is mentally taxing to him.



Let's move to something neutral in content. Logisticare changed their actual company name to "Modivcare". When a business changes their name, they have to pay money to file the paperwork. Thus, the costs of the name outweight the benefits, and in the case of Modivcare, that is likely that they simply hung people needing care out to dry, which then prompted lawsuits.

What scandal with the Cleveland organization forced them to change their name to Guardians?

Isn't it odd that the R-words and Guardians were forced to change their name by public outcry around the same time?

But keep telling me that it was because Washington was trying to distract out of market fans from a scandal.

 

[GKJ]

It's documented that BLM led to further social awareness online and that is when protestors took opportunity of the gains made through BLM to fight for social justice of other "oppressed" leading to the change of the Washington name. Again, it is DIRECTLY linked to sponsors complaining about the name. Trust me. I spend all day on the Washington football forum ExtremeSkins. This is what happened.


What scandal with the Cleveland organization forced them to change their name to Guardians?

Isn't it odd that the R-words and Guardians were forced to change their name by public outcry around the same time?

But keep telling me that it was because Washington was trying to distract out of market fans from a scandal.

It’s always sponsors and corporations. People have been bitching about the R-word going back to the last time they were in the super bowl. The overtures of prior years had been apparent before BLM was that big of a deal to where you had broadcasters begin to refuse to say it. People had always been aware of it, North Dakota was the first one to move way before WFT and Cleveland did.

 

[John Price]

It’s always sponsors and corporations. People have been bitching about the R-word going back to the last time they were in the super bowl. The overtures of prior years had been apparent before BLM was that big of a deal to where you had broadcasters begin to refuse to say it. People had always been aware of it, North Dakota was the first one to move way before WFT and Cleveland did.

BLM helped inspire the internet mob to change the Washington and Cleveland names. That's why they changed their names so soon after. And again, it had nothing to do with distractions. Cleveland has had no scandals to public knowledge and changed their name. I don't see how this is so hard to understand. Protestors pressured sponsors, sponsors caved, teams made the change. That's what was different than all the other attempts in the past.

 

[GKJ]

BLM helped inspire the internet mob to change the Washington and Cleveland names. That's why they changed their names so soon after. And again, it had nothing to do with distractions. Cleveland has had no scandals to public knowledge and changed their name. I don't see how this is so hard to understand. Protestors pressured sponsors, sponsors caved, teams made the change. That's what was different than all the other attempts in the past.

No, investors and shareholders pressured them. They’re the ones with the money. Not the internet mob. They don’t do anything.

 

[John Price]

No, investors and shareholders pressured them. They’re the ones with the money. Not the internet mob. They don’t do anything.

They wrote the letters and angry tweets to the companies that caved. FedEx had the rights to the stadium, and threatened to pull out of the naming deal (worth a lot of money) unless the name was changed. Nike dropped R-words gear from their website and made statements about being "socially conscious".

And I'm glad to see you agree with me it had nothing to do with the scandals but was rather a business decision based on sponsors "caving" to pressure.

 

[GKJ]

They wrote the letters and angry tweets to the companies that caved. FedEx had the rights to the stadium, and threatened to pull out of the naming deal (worth a lot of money) unless the name was changed. Nike dropped R-words gear from their website and made statements about being "socially conscious".

And I'm glad to see you agree with me it had nothing to do with the scandals but was rather a business decision based on sponsors "caving" to pressure.

Twitter isn't real life. Angry tweets don't do anything. People just do that because they think they're doing something.

The scandals are more to do with the NFL, but they certainly don't help matters. The NFL will protect the shield first and foremost, and they put screws down on this too.

 

[Troy McClure]

Twitter isn't real life. Angry tweets don't do anything. People just do that because they think they're doing something.

The scandals are more to do with the NFL, but they certainly don't help matters. The NFL will protect the shield first and foremost, and they put screws down on this too.

Yeah, the Twitter mob has demanded all kinds of things from the NFL and teams, and none of it made the NFL do a thing. The Twitter mob couldn't even get Kaepernick a backup QB job, yet we're supposed to believe they had the power to force a team to change its name.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

They wrote the letters and angry tweets to the companies that caved. FedEx had the rights to the stadium, and threatened to pull out of the naming deal (worth a lot of money) unless the name was changed. Nike dropped R-words gear from their website and made statements about being "socially conscious".

And I'm glad to see you agree with me it had nothing to do with the scandals but was rather a business decision based on sponsors "caving" to pressure.

There are no specifics reported showing the actual tangible and actionable threat used to make the sponsors apparently "cave". The few lines printed are more "we were wronged, this is what should be done, we deserve it for the sake of justice/morality" but what wasn't published was the "if you don't, then X will happen" clause. Having $620 billion in assets doesn't mean much. Sure, there are ETFs and the like that are socially responsible, but sometimes...the likes of tobacco money is just that reliable. With passive investing being all the rage, there's plenty of money going blind into many greater "unethical" powers for the sake of returns.
Demand letters are sent all the time as well. Many are unheeded.

So what if a few ESG funds sign the documents. They're small fry in the investing world because their returns suck. I don't see Vanguard(7.5 trillion AUM), Schwab, the big boys signing that letter to Nike.

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Not only that, but given Snyder previously dueled in a lengthy lawsuit to keep the name, just the action of pulling merch from a store and sponsorship didn't spur a counter via lawsuit? Seems out-of-character if only the name was the matter at that time. He still battled via other means.

What is more plausible is that at least one co-owner(Fedex's boss) had an axe to grind and pulled a few strings to get what he wanted. The former Fedex minority owner, Fred Smith, had been trying to sell since 2019.
Not out of the realm of possibility that he threw a bone by contacting some "investor" buddies to coordinate an "on the face" PR stunt with some advocacy groups in the press to get the ball rolling at last.
Since Fred Smith's son Arthur is an NFL coach, the damage also needs to be rough enough that the owners don't retaliate against his son.

And apparently, Dwight Schar, another co-owner, also might have had some matters in contention. Snyder's lawyers did get documents from Mary Ellen Blair hinting that leaking damaging info to the Post could "make them a lot of money".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/11/20/daniel-snyder-washington-football-minority-owners-sale/

Several of the people and corporate entities Snyder sought documents from have connections to Schar, including Comstock Holding Companies, a Virginia real estate corporation whose chief executive is Schar’s son-in-law; Mary Ellen Blair, a former executive assistant of Snyder’s who has lived in Comstock properties for years; and Moag, the banker hired by the minority owners to sell their shares.
While most of Snyder’s attempts to obtain records from these people remain in progress, the one involving Blair recently was completed. In court filings and hearings, Snyder’s lawyers have said they have evidence showing Blair called two team employees in July and, in separate conversations, told them they could “make a lot of money” for damaging information about Snyder and that an upcoming story in The Post would detail how Snyder does “dirty” and “illegal” things.

So, the "letter" may not be either Snyder himself doing "self-wounding", but it could be Fred Smith coordinating and leading the charge to make Snyder acquiesce.


And whatever the threat was, it didn't hold for other teams. The Indians took their time and apparently it was a matter of conscience from the owner.

Nor has other teams like the BlackHawks had their sponsors literally pull merch.

It's also no coincidence that "distractingly egregious" news pops up whenever a big Dan Snyder hearing pops up. Kyler's "study" clause happened to be a convinient competing piece of news to Snyder testifying, although behind closed doors.

 

[John Price]

There are no specifics reported showing the actual tangible and actionable threat used to make the sponsors apparently "cave". The few lines printed are more "we were wronged, this is what should be done, we deserve it for the sake of justice/morality" but what wasn't published was the "if you don't, then X will happen" clause. Having $620 billion in assets doesn't mean much. Sure, there are ETFs and the like that are socially responsible, but sometimes...the likes of tobacco money is just that reliable. With passive investing being all the rage, there's plenty of money going blind into many greater "unethical" powers for the sake of returns.
Demand letters are sent all the time as well. Many are unheeded.

So what if a few ESG funds sign the documents. They're small fry in the investing world because their returns suck. I don't see Vanguard(7.5 trillion AUM), Schwab, the big boys signing that letter to Nike.

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Learn about the 10 largest investment management companies in the U.S. and how they work. Plus, you'll learn how to determine how much they are worth.

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Not only that, but given Snyder previously dueled in a lengthy lawsuit to keep the name, just the action of pulling merch from a store and sponsorship didn't spur a counter via lawsuit? Seems out-of-character if only the name was the matter at that time. He still battled via other means.

What is more plausible is that at least one co-owner(Fedex's boss) had an axe to grind and pulled a few strings to get what he wanted. The former Fedex minority owner, Fred Smith, had been trying to sell since 2019.
Not out of the realm of possibility that he threw a bone by contacting some "investor" buddies to coordinate an "on the face" PR stunt with some advocacy groups in the press to get the ball rolling at last.
Since Fred Smith's son Arthur is an NFL coach, the damage also needs to be rough enough that the owners don't retaliate against his son.

And apparently, Dwight Schar, another co-owner, also might have had some matters in contention. Snyder's lawyers did get documents from Mary Ellen Blair hinting that leaking damaging info to the Post could "make them a lot of money".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/11/20/daniel-snyder-washington-football-minority-owners-sale/

So, the "letter" may not be either Snyder himself doing "self-wounding", but it could be Fred Smith coordinating and leading the charge to make Snyder acquiesce.


And whatever the threat was, it didn't hold for other teams. The Indians took their time and apparently it was a matter of conscience from the owner.

Nor has other teams like the BlackHawks had their sponsors literally pull merch.

It's also no coincidence that "distractingly egregious" news pops up whenever a big Dan Snyder hearing pops up. Kyler's "study" clause happened to be a convinient competing piece of news to Snyder testifying, although behind closed doors.

Still waiting for the scandal that forced the Cleveland Indians to change their name.

Oh wait, there wasn't any.

Don't try to overthink or buy into these "conspiracy theories"...

 

[Troy McClure]

Still waiting for the scandal that forced the Cleveland Indians to change their name.

Oh wait, there wasn't any.

Don't try to overthink or buy into these "conspiracy theories"...

Here are a couple of ideas:

Poverty. They picked the rebranding that would be cheapest to implement while also letting them sell a bunch of new hats and jerseys.

Momentum. They didn't want to be the sole team hanging out there with a name that had been a source of PR gripe for decades.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Still waiting for the scandal that forced the Cleveland Indians to change their name.

Oh wait, there wasn't any.

Don't try to overthink or buy into these "conspiracy theories"...

Why would there need to be a scandal for them to change a racially insensitive nickname? Cleveland and Washington were both using either a slur or a racially insensitive name. Blackhawks and Braves (for example) are very different. One could argue that it is cultural appropriation, but it is not as bad as Washington (NFL) and Cleveland (MLB).

 

[John Price]

Why would there need to be a scandal for them to change a racially insensitive nickname? Cleveland and Washington were both using either a slur or a racially insensitive name. Blackhawks and Braves (for example) are very different. One could argue that it is cultural appropriation, but it is not as bad as Washington (NFL) and Cleveland (MLB).

Exactly. And then people implied that the Commanders only changed their name because of scandals. That ain't true!

Both were pressured by big business sponsors to change their name because it was "insensitive". The impetus in doing so (which was lacking in the past) was raised social awareness.

 

[John Price]

I don't think we'll be seeing any more "hearings" on this matter, or at least less faux outrage from "offended Lawmakers"...recent events have changed the makeup of those pointing the finger angrily at Washington.

Let's get something clear. What Washington did was wrong.

Key word WAS.

Washington has long since revised their culture and HR department. Abuse happened. Abuse was handled. Dan Snyder is a piece of shit. We know.

That doesn't warrant our elected officials wasting tax payer dollars trying to state the obvious, while trying to get easy political points. Which worked so well for the "leader" of the investigation, no? The one that tried to subpoena Dan. Lmao.

@PanthersPens62

 

[PanthersPens62]

I don't think we'll be seeing any more "hearings" on this matter, or at least less faux outrage from "offended Lawmakers"...recent events have changed the makeup of those pointing the finger angrily at Washington.

Let's get something clear. What Washington did was wrong.

Key word WAS.

Washington has long since revised their culture and HR department. Abuse happened. Abuse was handled. Dan Snyder is a piece of shit. We know.

That doesn't warrant our elected officials wasting tax payer dollars trying to state the obvious, while trying to get easy political points. Which worked so well for the "leader" of the investigation, no? The one that tried to subpoena Dan. Lmao.

@PanthersPens62

All righty then!

 

[John Price]

All righty then!

I'm glad we have someone competent replacing her who actually deals with actual government matters instead of the matters of a private organization.

 

[Troy McClure]

I don't think we'll be seeing any more "hearings" on this matter, or at least less faux outrage from "offended Lawmakers"...recent events have changed the makeup of those pointing the finger angrily at Washington.

Let's get something clear. What Washington did was wrong.

Key word WAS.

Washington has long since revised their culture and HR department. Abuse happened. Abuse was handled. Dan Snyder is a piece of shit. We know.

That doesn't warrant our elected officials wasting tax payer dollars trying to state the obvious, while trying to get easy political points. Which worked so well for the "leader" of the investigation, no? The one that tried to subpoena Dan. Lmao.

@PanthersPens62

Guess I shouldn't be surprised to see Dan Snyder come in here and declare everything fixed.

 

[John Price]

Guess I shouldn't be surprised to see Dan Snyder come in here and declare everything fixed.

But it is fixed. Also LOL at "M" being primaried.

Again Congress has better things to do than investigate the going-ons of a private enterprise.

Teams are corrupt, we know this. We do not need an investigation. If Congress held an investigation into the Browns trading for Watson I would be opposed to it too! Real sick STUFF!

 

[Troy McClure]

But it is fixed. Also LOL at "M" being primaried.

Again Congress has better things to do than investigate the going-ons of a private enterprise.

Teams are corrupt, we know this. We do not need an investigation. If Congress held an investigation into the Browns trading for Watson I would be opposed to it too! Real sick STUFF!

How do we know it is fixed? Snyder lied after the first story came out. Why should we believe him now?

 

[Troy McClure]

And Congress has very good reasons to look into the practices of private businesses like Snyder's. That's how Congress learns what bad things those businesses do that need to be regulated. This is how we get any number of the workplace safety laws that have benefitted you over the years by making your job safer. Don't get mad just because Congress is now looking at how to make workplaces safer for women in light of the bad stuff Snyder's team has done over the years.

 

[Hasbro]

It’s always sponsors and corporations. People have been bitching about the R-word going back to the last time they were in the super bowl. The overtures of prior years had been apparent before BLM was that big of a deal to where you had broadcasters begin to refuse to say it. People had always been aware of it, North Dakota was the first one to move way before WFT and Cleveland did.

North Dakota still has an arena named after a NeoNazi booster.