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Redskins Owner Threatens Legal Action Against Washington City Paper

By Jason Zaragoza
february 2, 2011  03:09 pm
Redskins Owner Threatens Legal Action Against Washington City Paper
Anti-Redskinic Artwork Courtesy of Brooke Hatfield
[Updated Below] Washington City Paper staff writer Dave McKenna is getting the McNabb treatment from Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who is calling for McKenna's dismissal and is threatening legal action against City Paper for publishing "untruths" against him.

Snyder didn't appreciate being the subject of a November takedown piece by McKenna, according to a letter sent to City Paper's parent co. Creative Loafing, Inc.:
The article, entitled "The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder," detailed dozens of Snyder's actions as team owner and businessman. It recounted such episodes as the controversy surrounding the removal of trees on land adjacent to Snyder's home near the Potomac River and his raising of parking and ticket prices at FedEx Field, the Redskins' home.

The article was accompanied by a clearly doctored photo of Snyder with horns and facial hair. It drew hundreds of comments on City Paper's Web site, almost all of them praising McKenna and condemning Snyder.

One of Snyder's attorneys told the Washington Post that a lawsuit is in the works, but refused to specify any factual errors in the piece.

City Paper publisher (and AAN board member) Amy Austin called the piece "very solid" and told the Post, "If there was something to correct, we would have corrected it."

UPDATE 5:36pm: Amy Austin has posted a written response on the WCP site, along with a copy of the letter sent by Snyder's COO/general counsel.

The letter boasts that Snyder "has more than sufficient means to protect his reputation" and threatens that "the cost of litigation would presumably quickly outstrip the asset value of the Washington City Paper."

Letter from Washington Redskins General Counsel David Donovan to Atalaya Capital Management LP
View full article at Washington Post
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