Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Opinions

The Washington Redskins suck. Period.

Beginning the NFL season 2-5 and dead last in the NFC East, die-hard fans have been displaying their displeasure with signs criticizing owner Daniel Snyder and general manager Vinny Cerrato's leadership.

There have been signs and shirts saying "Dumb and Dumber" with pictures of Snyder and Cerrato, "Snyder Sucks" and "Snyder B-I-N-G-O F-Yourself."

Poor athletic performance draws criticism, especially from a fan base that has a section with dudes who don drag and pig noses.

However, this next action was not expected.

In the last few weeks, security has confiscated, destroyed or forced fans to throw away signs they bring into FedEx Field home games.

The Redskins organization banned signs in the stadium last month, which comes on the heels of strong criticism of Snyder and Cerrato.

Redskins General Counsel David Donovan, in an interview with the Corporate Counsel, said the no sign/banner policy was for the physical safety of the fans and also eliminates "obscene, inappropriate or obstructing" signs.

Donovan said this is not a First Amendment issue since the team is privately owned and the stadium privately funded.

His argument, though, contains some flaws.

First, a portion of the stadium was funded from the state of Maryland in 1996-97. Private funds were $180 million, but $70.5 million was state grants to improve transportation to accommodate building a stadium, according to NFLvenueInfo.com.

The grant money comes from the taxes of Maryland citizens. The grants could have been used in more important building projects like schools, universities or libraries.

Without the state grants redoing nearby highways, there would be no FedEx Field.

Second, signs will not hurt anyone. Snyder and Cerrato are men who are millionaires with a job that many would kill for.

They should realize their job performance is measured in wins and losses. Under Snyder (78-88) and Cerrato (52-66), the Redskins are far from the team that won three Super Bowls under Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs.

Criticism from media and Washington fans is expected as part of the sporting atmosphere.

And tickets are not cheap at FedEx Field. The average price is $79, while the average family of four shells out $441 with all expenses included.

"It's just not a very fan-friendly environment," said Michael Cox, a season ticket holder for the past decade in a Washington Business Journal article.

Third, even if banning signs is not a constitutional issue, why should paper signs with content-neutral material be confiscated? One disturbing incident was Oct. 26, when a woman's "Hi To My Husband in Afghanistan Love You" message was thrown away by security.

How does this affect Snyder? He has nothing to do with the war in Afghanistan.

Lastly, banning the signs contradicts Snyder's statement at a Tuesday press conference about fans being upset with the team.

"We're very, very appreciative of our great, loyal fan base, and I'm understanding," he said.

Redskins fans can only hope Snyder will be understanding and remove this ridiculous ban. But being worth $1.3 billion, he might continue in his proud ways.

Bob Bajek is a senior journalism major and can be reached at 581-7942 or DENopinions@gmail.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools

The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.

Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.

Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.

If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.