On several planes, Gilbert Arenas and Dan Snyder are totally alike. On about a million they are not.

One commonality I can easily think of is that they both appear to be utterly oblivious to the general sensibilities of those who live in reality. Now, it’s not completely the fault of these men that they live in a fantasy world – NFL owner, a $100 million contract NBA man — but the ridiculous ways they can act is on their own accord.

Another similar trait of the two maligned D.C. sports figures? (One of whom the city no longer has to deal with.) Both are championing legal maneuvers against free speech.

In mid-June lawyers for the Washington City Paper made a filing, under anti-SLAPP laws passed in the District of Columbia last December, seeking to dismiss Snyder’s well-documented lawsuit against the local weekly alt-newspaper because of a November 2010 article written by the WCP’s Dave McKenna, “The Cranky Redskins Fan’s Guide to Dan Snyder.”

The ACLU, along with D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh and several organizations — the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the Maryland-District of Columbia-Delaware Broadcasters Association, the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, National Public Radio, Allbritton Communications (publisher of TBD and Politico), Atlantic Media Inc. (publisher of National Journal and The Atlantic), WUSA-TV (Channel 9), the Public Access Corporation of the District of Columbia, Politico, the Public Participation Project, the Environmental Working Group, and Public Citizen — co-signed the fight to dismiss Snyder’s lawsuit against the City Paper with an amicus brief of their own.

For reference, SLAPP stands for ”strategic lawsuit against public participation,” and quoting from its Wikipedia entry, it is, “a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.”

So, you can probably imagine what anti-SLAPP laws aim to do. Snyder has also imagined, and on August 1 his lawyers filed a response to the City Paper‘s motion to dismiss, mostly saying that anti-SLAPP laws are unconstitutional and that the D.C. City Council did not have the authority to pass such a law in the first place; this according to a blog post on the City Paper‘s website.

Essentially, Snyder is saying that laws intended to keep wealthy public figures from silencing critics with their money are un-American. How’s that for the owner of a racist Native American logo football team?

Where does Gilbert Arenas fit into the anti-SLAPP-ing?

Arenas and his lawyers have been filing their own motions to prevent fair critique in a free world. On Monday June 20 it was announcedthat Arenas’ ex and mother of his four children, Laura Govan, would be appearing on the upcoming season of VH1′s Basketball Wives. By Thursday of that week, the day of 2011 NBA Draft, Arenas was said to be filing federal suits in Los Angeles aiming to keep Govan off the show.

For a guy who is so candid on Twitter, this left us all wondering what Arenas was trying to hide? Or rather, was his warped sense of reality seemingly trying to determine which juicy gossip should be released in his world of ”controlled chaos” and which should not?

But that won’t exactly stop VH1, or Govan. As Arenas’ attorneys have ramped up efforts to keep Govan off the show, Shed Media, the producer of Basketball Wives, recently filed their own anti-SLAPP motion against Arenas. Here is the relevant quote from the motion via The Hollywood Reporter:

“In a showing of unparalleled hubris, Plaintiff claims that he is so famous and important that simply mentioning the words ‘basketball wives’ in the same sentence as Govan’s name — even without actually mentioning Plaintiff’s name — impermissibly impinges on his rights. Essentially, Plaintiff claims that because he is famous, his ex-girlfriend is not allowed to talk about herlife. Plaintiff is wrong. Govan has a constitutional right to tell her story, even were it to result in an unauthorized biography of Plaintiff.”

Not to have her own voice go unheard, Govan also recently gave a phone interview to Loop21.com.

“Hell naw!,” Govan says when asked if she’s worried that Arenas’ motions will keep her off the show. And when asked if she’s spoken to Arenas since he made the filing, Govan says:

“Yea, I talk to him all the time. He’s still the father of my children. And we have a great relationship. It’s funny because we’ll sit and we’re talking and I’ll be like, “Damn, dog. You’re suing me like a hundred times. Like, what’s up with that?” But, we’re cleaning it up. It just takes time because he’s filed so many goddamn things against me. And now we’re at the point where we’re just cleaning stuff up. We’re just looking to really, really be good parents to our children.”

Damn, dog… Finally, somebody cares about the kids.

In any case, congrats to both Arenas and Snyder. In so many ways, via lawyers, lawsuits and big money priviledge, they represent America. In so many ways, their efforts against free speech represent Syria.

I can’t say I’m a fan of Basketball Wives, which could probably be re-titled, “Spread ‘Em For Money” (because to be on the show, in fact, you need not be an actual “wife”), but if all the legal wrangling and ridiculousness means that thirsty Americans can continue to feast on the train-wreck blood of the lives of others, then I’m all for it.

Otherwise, why are we blogging anyway? Thank you U.S. of A.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• September 2, 2011 -- ShareBullets: Basketball Wives & Crittenton’s Tweets
• August 24, 2011 -- ShareBullets: Earthquake After Effects & The Detriment of Gilbert Arenas’ Twitter Account
• June 20, 2011 -- ShareBullets: John Wall Wears Philly Flyers Hat, Hands Out $20s

In the past, the Washington Redskins were ‘messing me up, my whole head….teasing me, just like Tisha, did Martin,’ but now those days are over, and the quest for something bigger seems attainable for the tribe called Redskins Nation.

How did this team go from finding a way to lose to finding a way to win? Could the simple difference be a rookie head coach who wasn’t hired to captain the ship in the first place? A Cowboys fan, having lost that smirking smile at the losing ways of the Skins, seemed to find solace in telling me that Joe Gibbs should have been let go three years ago. Not so fast my friend. Joe Gibbs laid the foundation, allowing the current players to become men. Jim Zorn came along and has let those men loose.

Zorn has left ‘job on the line’ decision making out of his coaching strategy. In doing so, he’s brought “guts” to his team, and gained the respect of the players, all while providing a calming presence which allows for the disregard of an early 14 point deficit in the hostile territory of a division rival.

Under Jim Zorn, ‘panic’ is not part of the job description of the Washington Redskins. He’ll leave the ‘finger on the red button’ mentality to the obsessive-compulsive fans of the DC area.

Now, I must admit, upon going down by two TDs, I sent the following text message to my friends, “Boy, we look greeeeeeat. Yep, we’ll lose to the Rams next week.” Of course, my text was pessimism with intent, in mocking reference to the negativity I displayed during the Saints win. Was I genuinely concerned? As an endorser of Clinton Portis would say, “You betcha.” But did I believe my sarcastic fatalism would somehow reverse the fortunes of the day? That’s the story I’m sticking with.

What The World Wide Web Is Saying:

• “Just who the hell is this team? For the fourth game in a row, the final seconds ticked off the clock and Jason Campbell was taking a knee. ‘Skins fans haven’t seen anything like this in years.”
  [Addicted to Zorn: Redskins Handle Eagles After Slow Start - DCist]

• “After the week one loss to the Giants, if someone said the Redskins wouldn’t turn the ball over for the next four games, and they’d be 4-1, we might have said, ‘yeah, right. And Dexter Manley opened a book at Oklahoma State.’”
  [Your Biggest NFL Surprise: Washington Redskins - The Big Lead]
• The DC Optimist continues to take issue with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King….and rightly so. But when it comes to sports, and the teams I follow, I’d rather play it Rodney Dangerfield style….because winning after getting no respect is that much sweeter.
• Mr. Irrelevant has Lil’ Danny Snyder being Michael Scott Part Deux. For some reason, I think the lil’ fella has a some Brick Tamland in him too…….or the comparison Stet Sports makes, Steve Lattimer.
• Philly fans like their classy in the form of eggs and flipping the bird….via the DC Sports Bog. Clearly, the Redskins did not get the headline regarding mass awareness of a certain avian variety. [If you didn't see that classic Family Guy episode from Sunday night, here's the Wiki.]
• Santana Moss is NOT Terrell Owens:
  “He had to make a decision weeks ago of how he was gonna react to a game like this, and he never came off the sidelines saying, you know, ‘How come you’re not getting me the ball? I mean, don’t you know who I am? I’m Santana Moss.’ He didn’t say anything like that. He just kept after it.” -Jim Zorn via the DC Sports Bog

Previous Game Observations: Giants | Saints | Cardinals | Cowboys

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The two biggest cry-babies of NFL week four. It’s an ironic circle:

1. Tank Johnson had to be restrained because Rock Cartwright celebrated on the Dallas star at the 50 yard line after the game. Tank, being a classy man himself, brought up the issue of class.

2. Mr. Irrelevant reminded us all of a Star logo controversy of the past between Tank’s current teammate, Terrell Owens, and former Cowboy, Emmitt Smith.
3. Now Owens, who I’ve tried to stress to nervously defensive Cowboys fans time and time again that you NEVER want that guy on your team when the chips are down, is doing exactly what is to be expected of him…..T.O. is saying that he didn’t get the ball enough. Evidently, the offense does not exist without T.O., yet Dallas was able to somehow beat Green Bay last week with Owens only catching two balls for 17 yards.

4. Now, Emmitt Smith is saying that Owens is “not a true Cowboy,” but never fear, because Emmitt is still getting his groove on.

Around the Internets:

• Jason Campbell was a bigger hero for making a single phone call than for anything he did on the field. [Raw Fisher]

• Somebody may have been wrong about the Redskins (although it’s still a long season, that’s what I’m going to keep telling myself). [Stet Sports]

• Lil’ Danny Snyder = Michael Scott…..that’s what she said. [Mr. Irrelevant]

• Fred Smoot still looked dazed in the locker room after the game…..he thought he was Batman. [DC Sports Bog]

• Talk about ‘Hard Core Players’ and Clinton Portis’ name should be coming out your mouth. [DC Optimist]
  

My game ball goes to the defense. No, they didn’t sack Tony Romo, and they only forced one turnover, but they brought consistency and disrupted what most thought to be an unstoppable Cowboy offense. But the key was that the play of the defense, in holding Dallas to only 44 yards on the ground, helped the Redskins control the ball, and have a significant advantage in time of possession, 38:09 to 21:51.

Hopefully Darrell Armstrong was somewhere near a microphone on Sunday.

“How ‘Bout Those Redskins!?!”

Nuff’ said.

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I’ve never been so silently frustrated at the offensive play calling…..even after witnessing years of persistent Joe Gibbs running it up the middle over and over again. I understand it was Zorn’s first outing, but couldn’t help wondering if he’d been on the sidelines of many live football games before. The first half would have been absolutely disastrous had the Redskins not scored. Not electing to call a timeout with all of them left and seconds ticking away in the Red Zone? Incomprehensible.

The Washington offense looked to be testing scenarios in the waning moments of an inconsequential preseason game when the fire was in the hole, down 16-7 as time was running out. The term “sense of urgency” will be thrown around in the coming days. So where was it? Do we chalk this up to Campbell’s insecurity with the offense? No, he’s not a rookie and Zorn wasn’t born yesterday. Shifting up a gear when the situation calls for it should have been refined, adequately at a minimum, before game one.

This season is going to be a learning process, we knew that after the last two preseason games. If things start to click, NFL history has dictated that momentum can turn at the blink of an eye. Maybe the players, led by Campbell and the ‘C’ on his jersey, need to focus on learning the offense, but it’s Jim Zorn’s job to get everyone on the same page. Zorn will learn quick that in DC, if you’re throwing others under the bus every week, eventually that bus is going to go in reverse and run over you.

———-
And now, knee-jerk quotes from the peanut gallery:

“Zorn’s got a lot of growing up to do. I blame Snyder for Zorn. (minutes later) Wait, did I say Zorn needed to grow up? Can you change that to ‘looked awful’?” -Chris

“Campbell is not the quarterback of the future, he’s not looking down field when he needs to.” -Rob (a Steelers first, Redskins second, fan)

“Zorn lookin’ like he was just born, the D looked alright to me.” -Billy

“OMG, your coach is killing me!” -Nawaz (text message from a Dolphins fan)

“My advice is for Zorn to not read the papers tomorrow.” -Claire

“That ‘West Coast Offense’ looked very similar to what we had last year: two 1-yard runs and a 3-yard pass on 3rd down.” -Adam (a Skins fan who stood up his friends, who assumed that the same ‘ol crew watching the season opener together was of a prerequisite nature, to watch the game with a co-worker, who happens to be a Giants fan, because he gave him his “word” — not good early season karma if you ask me….Call Out!)

And for the record, Carrie had no comment.

For the Winners & Losers, head to Mr. Irrelevant.

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With the late July legal win for the Washington football franchise, it’s safe to say that the Redskins will be the nickname of the team for the foreseen future of countless generations. Essentially, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that a 16-year old Native American lawsuit attempting to invalidate a trademark on the Redskins name was not filed within a timely manner of when the trademark was issued in 1967, and to do so now would cause the franchise too great of an economic hardship. The court did not comment on the racially offensive nature of the legal battle and the case now heads back to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Recently the pot of questionable racism was stirred when The Big Lead compared the use of “Redskins” to the “eye slant” photo of the Spanish men’s basketball team, and then when Mr. Irrelevant refuted the comparison. Debates such as these will unquestionably continue as long as Redskins is the team nickname.

What is a Redskin? The reasoning behind the meaning seems to split into three areas of thought: the skin color of Native Americans, the warpaint Native Americans used before battle, or the bloody scalp remnant resulting from a Native American crossing the path of a bounty hunter.

Most accounts can agree that team owner George Preston Marshall changed the franchise name from the Boston Braves to the Boston Redskins in 1933 to recognize then coach, William “Lone Star” Dietz. Dietz, who claimed half-German, half-Sioux background, embraced what he perceived to be a Native American heritage.

Marshall was no doubt a fan of his coach, Dietz, who was by most accounts a star in his day, hanging out with the likes of Knute Rockne and Walt Disney, and having played alongside Jim Thorpe along with once being under the tutelage of Pop Warner. However, one could surely debate if Marshall naming the team ‘Redskins’ in recognition of Dietz’s claimed heritage was truly an honor or not. Marshall himself had issues with race as the Redskins were the last NFL team to integrate in 1962.

So, the age-old defense of the use of Redskins, regardless of the meaning behind it, goes that since the team was named in honor of “Lone Star” Dietz, and if he, being part Indian, didn’t mind, then everything is a-okay. But there’s the catch, Lone Star was raised as a “white man” who didn’t even become aware with his purported heritage until the latter part of his teenage years, upon hearing an argument between his adopted parents.

In 2004, Linda Waggoner, a professor in American Multicultural Studies and Philosophy, wrote a 5-part series, “Reclaiming James One Star,” for Indian Country Today which investigated the validity of Dietz’s claimed Native American ancestry, bringing into light multiple false accounts from his early youth. The ultimate conclusion is that one can neither concretely confirm nor disprove that Dietz was any part Indian.

But for some reason, Dietz embraced the Native American culture to the extent of dressing in full Indian regalia, including on the sidelines of some games, enrolling in Indian schools, taking a Native American wife, and becoming a well-known artist depicting life on the plains. Regardless, it seems silly that the use of Redskins hinges on whether one man may or may not have been a Native American in any way, shape, or form.

To me, the Redskins name is not so bad. I won’t give you the “I wouldn’t care if they were named the DC Honkeys” argument (a racial epithet made popular by this guy), or the “It’s honoring those brave Indians…..Native Americans” spiel (the Atlanta Braves honor those brave Native Americans, but that mascot of theirs was a symbol of racism like a mug). Rather, I’ll give you a “the symbolism, as bad as it may be, will always remind us avoiding past issues with the inability to treat each other as human beings” reasoning. Doesn’t make Redskins any less offensive to some, but we all should at least be thinking along those lines. (I wonder how logo feelings would be if the white man and Redman got along in the first place.)

Might there be a compromise that can satisfy everyone? Here’s my suggestion: Keep the colors, get rid of the iconic Indian and feathers, and change the name to just the Skins. And there you have it, most of the team’s marketing efforts can be solved with some white out and/or paint. Ehhh….on second thought, it might not be a good gesture to rid the franchise of it’s Native American associations with white out. In any case, this name change scenario would seemingly be the most cost effective.

To me, the economic argument in quite ironic. In the very same city, the Washington NBA franchise was renamed to the Wizards after 34 years of being named Bullets, which was inspired from a Baltimore WWII ammunition casting factory when the team played in Charm City. Franchise owner, Abe Pollin, claimed that violent connotations provided the need to change the team name. However, most would admit that becoming the Wizards, in conjunction with moving from Landover, Maryland to a fresh new arena in downtown Chinatown DC, would provide Pollin with a nice financial boon as the result of rebranding and jersey sales.

Big corporations do it all the time, I’d be willing to bet that the Washington Redskins, being one of the most valuable franchises in sports, could economically withstand a name change with team faithful lining up at their local Sports Authority to purchase new gear.

In the end, I could care less that only 9% of Native Americans find the Redskins name offensive. I could also care less if the name is eventually changed or not. What I do know is that time spent arguing in each direction could be more productive focused in other areas, but then again, this is the case with most everything we do in life….including *cough* blogging.

Maybe changing the name to “Skins” is just a silly little idea that would, in no way, help race relations in the United States. At least one could say that skin is something that all humans have in common, no matter what the color may be. As Jamie Mottram essentially outlined in the comment section on the Mr. Irrelevant post, most all fans of the Washington NFL franchise would continue to root for their team regardless of the nickname…..as long as the colors remained the same.

Maybe it’s time to bid adieu to Chief Zee and his tribe. It may not be a popular decision, but would it really be that much skin off anyone’s ass, or Danny Snyder’s pocket book, to do so?

flickr/JAGalicious

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Plain and simple, the Redskins are Danny Snyder’s toy. He’s spawned a beloved franchise into reflections of a faceless corporation. Being the self-made owner of the team, he certainly has the right to do so. No one is denying that professional sports is a business, but does it have to be rubbed in our grill so much? Acts such as making moves to control DC Sports Radio just don’t feel right.

About a year ago, Sports Illustrated gave Snyder a pat on the back for trying hard and ranked him the fifth best owner in the NFL. The message boarders at ExtremeSkins, an officially official Redskins message board, gave Snyder an 84% approval rating back in June. Of course, that was only judging Danny’s actions in the previous two months. Snyder certainly gained credibility in bringing Joe Gibbs back to DC (and the accompanying laissez-faire policy with the coaching staff, something Danny hadn’t been able to keep his mitts off before), as well as his patriarchal handling of the SeanTaylor incident. But not all Skins fans enjoy having the lil’ guy at the helm as his June ’08 DC Sports Bog approval rating stands at 41%, perhaps a more effective gauge of Snyder’s popularity.

So what’s to appreciate about Danny Snyder? Maintenance of relevancy. He’s a local-bred fan who seems willing to spend whatever it takes to keep the Washington NFL franchise always in contention…..for what, I’m not sure. But how many other teams possess the capable moxie to trade for a former NFL defensive MVP within mere hours of losing both the starting DE, Phillip Daniels, and a reserve, Alex Buzbee, for the entire season on the first freaking day of practice?

Jason Taylor to the Redskins has the sports world buzzing. Whether you think Taylor dancing his way to the DMV area is a good thing, or not such a good thing, it is…..something. To me, a 2nd and a 6th rounder is worth acquiring an impact player rather than chancing it with turning over stones to find a defensive version of Michael ‘Beer Man’ Lewis, even if Taylor is just a one or two year rental.

And this is why I have a small appreciation of Little Danny Snyder and his ability to dip into a purse full of funds (filled from all of the ridiculous extra curricular fees a fan pays to simply attend a game at FedExField) so he can tend to the business of making fans happy, and thus, garnering more loot. Mike Wise had a great column citing the move for Taylor as a necessity over thrill, and comically compared Jason Taylor to Kevin Bacon and Bill Parcells to John Lithgow from the movie, “Footloose.” The move for Taylor is a risk. If it pays off, Lil’ Danny will be sporting his ‘Man of the Year’ sash in the next Napoleon Complex Parade. If not, look for Dan and Jason dancing their anger away at a local abandoned factory warehouse.

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