Redskins Owner DANIEL SNYDER “dropped his lawsuit against the Washington City Paper on Saturday, ending a seven-month legal battle with the publication over an article that Snyder said had defamed him,” according to Paul Farhi of the WASHINGTON POST. Snyder had sought $1M “in general damages as well as unspecified punitive damages from the weekly paper; its parent company, Creative Loafing; and journalist Dave McKenna.” McKenna's story in November, “The Cranky Redskins Fans’ Guide to Dan Snyder,” was an “unflattering account of Snyder’s tenure as the owner of Washington’s NFL team, with an encyclopedia-style listing of alleged missteps and public-relations controversies over the years.” People close to Snyder said that he “felt vindicated when City Paper’s publisher, AMY AUSTIN, acknowledged in a story published in April that one aspect of the story was not meant to be construed as literally true.” Snyder agreed to dismiss his suit, and both sides “agreed to bear their own legal costs as well as to a mutual release of future claims in negotiations.” City Paper in a statement said that “the cost of defending itself went ‘well beyond’ the $34,000 its readers had contributed to a legal defense fund.” It did not release the exact amount that was spent. Snyder in his original lawsuit said that “he was defamed by several parts of the article, including the suggestion that he had been kicked out as chairman of the board of the Six Flags amusement park chain.” He added that the story “insulted his wife, TANYA, a breast cancer survivor who has been active in efforts to promote awareness of the disease, and that a photo illustration of him with horns and a goatee was anti-Semitic.” Snyder "backed off most of his claims about the story as settlement talks with City Paper and its attorneys began this summer after the paper filed a motion to dismiss the suit.” By the end, “only the story’s statement about forgery was at issue” (WASHINGTON POST, 9/11).
MAN-TO-MAN COVERAGE: When asked in a Q&A with the N.Y. TIMES MAGAZINE's Andrew Goldman if he thought it was a “tactical error” to sue City Paper, Snyder said, “At the end of the day, you can’t call someone a criminal when they’re absolutely not.” He added, “I think the media overblows most things.” Goldman told Snyder many fans are "so distraught about your ownership that they say the only way to save the team is for you to sell it or even die." Snyder responded, “When you’re losing, that’s what they wish. When you’re winning, they think you’re doing a great job.” When asked about the possibility of selling the team, Snyder said, "I really believe that there’s nothing like this. And the experience of turning things around is a wonderful thing.” The Redskins have worked to “install solar panels atop FedEx Field and provide stations where fans can plug in their electric cars," and Snyder said, “If you look at what we’ve done, I mean, it is mind-boggling to me, No. 1, how beautiful it is. And just think, if you’re driving here with your Chevy Volt, we have pumps so we can pump you right there. That is too cool” (N.Y. TIMES MAGAZINE, 9/11 issue).
