Getty ImagesRedskins owner Dan Snyder has previously espoused an “all caps/over my dead body” stance toward his controversial nickname, but one of his old lieutenants thinks there are some things that could make him reconsider.
Former Redskins General Manager Vinny Cerrato told Boston’s The Sports Hub (via Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post) that Snyder’s resistance goes back to his father.
“I know Dan Snyder very well,” Cerrato said. “And he is fighting this, and he’s against this, and he doesn’t believe what people are saying, . . . It goes back to his childhood. It goes back to his dad. It is deep with him, why that name means so much. And then with Bruce Allen, his dad was the coach, so it means something to him. So I think they will fight it to the end, and Dan has made those comments, . . .
“It almost now is like Dan vs. the politicians. It’s not the fan base; it’s a fight amongst the politicians and Dan Snyder.”
When asked about the potential of making or losing money with a change, Cerrato said that wasn’t a motivator.
“It’s not about the money,” Cerrato said. “Dan’s got a ton of money. He’ll fight this. I said this when this first started a year ago or whatever, I said the only way I see him eventually changing the name is if — IF — he gets a new stadium out of it, downtown, where old RFK was. And he builds a stadium bigger than [Jerry Jones's], which he would do, bigger and better than Jerry’s. He gets a Super Bowl. All that. I said that’s the way that maybe he would change the name. Getting the property, getting the land, getting a good deal from the city to make concessions to change the name.
“I don’t know. But to me, he’s going to continue to fight this.”
That part is clear. What’s curious is that this may be the first time anyone who has been close to Snyder at any point mentioned an exit strategy.
Frankly, we’d expect a quick denial from the team’s spin team on this one. But it makes you wonder what the price tag on Snyder’s principles actually looks like.
You mean Snyder only cares about money??
Snyder the guy who took Jack kent cookes name off the stadium
The guy who changed the name of the joe Gibbs level of the stadium to a corporate sponsor??
I can’t believe Snyder could be bribed like that.
Sad little Napoleon is snyder
It’s the NFL.. You mean money is involved.. No way
Wasn’t the stadium in Landover just built around 1997? I guess it was made of the same brawny paper towels that they used for Turner Field! Only lasts around 20 years…max!
America is too sensitive now..
Well like I said all along, why would he change it on his own when he can get somebody else to pay for it? That option has never materialized, and Snyder hasn’t wavered, go figure. The way I see it is I believe Snyder was always willing to change the name, perhaps even desperately wanting to change the name for all I know, but he’s not going to do it until everybody else starts coughing up the money that he thinks he can get out of them. And those people haven’t made the first move yet, so from his perspective a name change is waiting on those people to act. Snyder might be asking himself right now – what’s taking those people so long to figure this out?
Every man has his price.
He made an incredibly good point. Snyder stands no gain from changing the name now. As a business man, you have to sweeten the deal. Didn’t think of this angle before, but makes total sense from a business perspective.
Reading between the the HUGE lines: It IS about money.
Honesty as a Skins fan, if it meant having RFK torn down and creating SnyderSphere, with rights to a Super Bowl, I wouldn’t mind if the team changed the name to Warriors or even Washington Burgundy.
I agree… For the most part it was a non issue until idiots in Washington and self serving self promoting agenda driven media got ahold of it… I have a real dislike for Snyder for personal reasons but he is right in this case
Thank you Mr. Snyder!
We need to ALL view this, and other things, as a fight against the Libs and politicians! These people do not believe in American and are our true enemy. Fight everything the Obamacans try and stand for… they are our enemy.
Hail to the Redskins!
” I said that’s the way that maybe he would change the name. Getting the property, getting the land, getting a good deal from the city to make concessions to change the name.”
Everything has a price !
and since it does……. just change the name for the right reason, because its wrong.
The Washington Snyder’s has a nice ring to it, will be the only ring the team will see with Danny boy as the owner.
opps , I said Danny boy there goes my tip damn
So it’s not about the money. But with the right bribe this could all be resolved.
Keep the name, and move the team out of that AWFUL stadium they play in. That place is a dump.
Well the fans don’t want the name changed either…and if you don’t know yet Vinny is an idiot and was the biggest error/mistake Snyder ever made as owner of the Redskins.
Dan Snyder. You are my hero!
And i’m an Eagles fan
I love it when people make up stuff to get sympathy.
If they build a new stadium in downtown DC, it wouldn’t get a Super Bowl. The difficulty of mounting that event in that location could tax even authorities used to massive levels of security on a daily basis. And unless the mass transit infrastructure is improved, there could be a repeat of the near-fiasco we saw before the Meadowlands Super Bowl.
Indians are hurting them self with this
A Super Bowl will come and never come back again.
A stadium will come, and then eventually go faster than you think.
History is forever, and you’d be throwing away a positive history for things where one is immediately fleeting and the other is fleeting in a near future.
All for what?
To cave in? If you cave in that’s forever. For what?
To allow political-race-users win a battle toward parlaying this victory for a win in a coming Pres election that will probably change current politics (thankfully), and they’ll leave you alone if you play along nicely. There’s no monetary price worth that.
Fed ex sucks
Simple case of a billionaire not wanting to be told what to do. Shocker. If people really want him to change the name the way to do it is simple. Tell him he must KEEP the name.
They would never build the stadium in downtown DC, no room for a stadium. The RFK site is way to small to build another stadium in that location. The stadium would have to be built in the burbs
BTW…
This country is way to sensitive nowadays…WAH WAH! Get over it people. The name ain’t changing!
Good for Snyder. This “campaign” against the name has become a joke.
Rename the team to the Washington Swine. It honors the hogs tradition and is an accurate portrayal of the politicians.
Keep the name, movie the stadium to Fairfax, VA.
HTTR!
That, or it goes back to the left’s latest ridiculousness
So in Layman terms, Rich White man won’t change team’s racist name unless he gains a huge financially benefit from it. lol
Good to see some things never change. The year is 2014 and white people are still screwing over Native Americans for personal gains.
He also thought he was a good GM.
Vinny is on the local radio in baltimore and every thing or person he references is 10-20 years old. I’d take what he is saying with a ton of salt since he seems out of the loop when listening to him.
They need to build the REDSKINS a new stadium. It should be in PG county, on Indian Head highway.
H T T ?
I hate Cerrato. First, pre-Ravens, I was a Washington fan and Cerrato destroyed the franchise as GM. Second, now he is a talk show host in Baltimore and bashes the Ravens players and is generally disliked by the entire Baltimore community. (Almost as much as the Washington community hates him). Other than politicians, he is the most disliked person in the 95 corridor. Having said that, the politicians who want the name changed have the power to grant what Cerrato suggests, and it is worth it. If it is worth wasting millions of taxpayer dollars from politicians to the trademark authorities then pay the 100 million or so, give him a stadium, give him a Super Bowl, and end this once and for all and make them the Washington Americans or Washington Veterans.
Normally when Vinny Cerrato is on your side, you need to wonder whether you are taking the right position.
I can recall when the residents of Alexandria protested having the stadium built in Potomac Yard…say it would create too much traffic etc., well guess what these same folks did allow??? A strip mall of stores and town homes etc., I do believe the stores and town homes create more traffic nightmares then one friggin game a week for a few hours. Now that’s greed…I say since there’s very little constructive work being done nor getting done in Capitol building we build the new stadium there in it’s place and we can use the Capitol dome on top of the stadium.
Well unless you’re a REDSKINS fan, most people don’t know what an idiot Vinny Cerrato is…
just change name to “skins” thats what eveyone calls them anyway…..
Doesn’t someone have to have actually said something for you to print “… dead body”, in quotes like that? Go back and look at what Al Michaels said. And Vinny Cerrato, dreaming up fantastic quid pro quos is your scoop? Slow news day, indeed. I think someone is dying to plant their “I Lead the Name Change Charge” flag, when it finally happens. In another 10 years.
Change the name to the Hebs or the penny pinchers. Dan won’t be offended.
This is the GM that Snyder fired… twice.
It’s 2014. This has been an issue as long as I’ve been alive. Clearly it’s a racial slur. Just do the right thing and fix it already.
What? Vinny C is speaking on behalf of The Danny and the team? What a joke!
Howard Stern does the best interviews. He had Snyder on, 4 years ago?, and I could have told you the connection is because of his father. Howard Stern, the king of all media, Bababooey
It’s just a name though. Ridiculous. Meanwhile someone wants to take the Bills from Buffalo, do you know how many father-son, grandfather-grandson relationships were bonded over The Buffalo Bills?
Snyder is being a sentimental cry baby.
Compensation for the Unfair Competitive Advantage stupidity.
$1.16M from each owner. $32M total.
Boom. Name change, and new stadium.
So. It’s not about the money. Unless or until he gets concessions and a new stadium and a Super Bowl. Then it’s about the money.
No wonder RG3 is his Chief of Football Operations.
Don’t believes word Vinny says. He ruined our franchise by acting as a “yes” man. He’s bitter he no longer involved in Washington or with any other team. Former GM who can’t even land a scouting gig.
All the haters are acting as if Snyder made this statement and not some fired GM who doesn’t have any clue what he is talking about. Similar to the cluelessness he showed when he was here.
#KEEPTHENAME
Snyder cannot be bought off at any price. His honor is beyond reproach. No amount of …. say what, a new stadium. Tell me more.
How many owners can say “I grew up loving this team, now I own it” ??? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. the answer is one! that’s why the name will never change!
Cerrato is an idiot. However, your team is no better off under the litany of GMs and Head Coaches that have succeeded his regime. Never win a Superbowl with Dan at the helm. Never, ever.
Redskins
Guess how many people filed a complaint with the Trademark Agency in Washington to have the name changed prior to the June 19th Trademark decision? ZERO!!
Look it up people, it’s out there. All you have to do is request a Freedom of Information Act. Boom!!
So let’s see… zero complaints (about the name) actually filed in the Trademark office and how many stories have been written about the Redskins name? Curious indeed…
The name REDSKINS will never change.
Let’s be consistent here.
For starters, we have to change Oklahoma. That is two Indian words meaning “red man” We can’t have that. While we are at it, Red Man chewing tobacco has to go as well.
I think the name Washington Nazis is a name Dan Snyder will accept.
Great, so we have to buy off this billionaire with a $1,000,000,000+ in taxpayer money? Hell no.
The reference to Father’s support for Redskins name is totally unsubstantiated. In fact, the book he wrote in 1980 says the opposite. #snydersfather Gerald in his book “Human Rights” page 28 writes “referring to them as ‘redski*ns’ is a part of their unemployment problem.”
Saying this country is sensitive is ignoring the very people who hate the name. White people need to walk in the shoes of a minority and then they will see the light…not their fault, they just don’t know.
Redskins name is racist towards Native Americans, but African Americans being called black and Caucasians being called white isn’t? What’s the difference?
wisconsinhillfolk says:
Jul 3, 2014 2:06 PM
Cerrato is an idiot. However, your team is no better off under the litany of GMs and Head Coaches that have succeeded his regime. Never win a Superbowl with Dan at the helm. Never, ever.
—————————————————-
Since when is two a litany, Gruden is the second coach post Cerrato. Allen is the first GM. Shanahan was first coach/GM post Cerrato.
The FCC will deliver the knockout punch to the team’s name very soon.
It’s amazing to see the ignorance of all the wanna be haters of a business man who has been an avid fan and was able to purchase the team that he loved as a child and took his inspiration from the fighting spirit that we all as fans have.
Everybody wants to be right about the name change with all of your speculation and you are no different than clueless Vinny.
Like him or not, Dan Snyder has made it clear that he’s not changing the name. You don’t know the fight of this man because you have never been committed to anything of significance.
He’s rich and has the heart to stand in the courage of his adolescent influences including the Washington Football REDSKINS!
The name which has nothing to do with the color of the natural skin, but painted on red clay as part of the fighting spirit of the native American Indians who used it to designate the pride and courage of the warrior that wore it.
If I were to use the name camouflage for my team to denote incognito which is the dress to give superior advantage for attack, would I be using a slur or racially undertone derogatory term?
Some would say no and some would say yes, if the camouflage color included black on the face, someone would be insulted by the fact that white people used black make up to imitate black people in ridicule ( ie. Amos and Andy)
Dan Snyder is not using the ethnicity of other people for entertainment, but the spiritual ideal represented by the native Americans that most people want to forget because of the associated guilt of why they are living in the conditions that they are in.
Dan Snyder is not responsible for their plight and the name Redskin has nothing to do with it either, but he is the only one who has lots of money and lots of heart to take a stand and use some of his hard earned money to do something about their circumstance.
He has also heighten the awareness that America is still oblivious to the fact that it takes more than dreams and fantasies with sarcastic bleeding heart self glory to effect permanent change for the better.
The American Indian people don’t need a football team to change its name. They need politicians and the media to change their ways to the example of the only advocate who is bold enough to walk in their kindred spirit and address the real issues of their impoverished living.
Get involved in the foundation or stop running your rhetorical loose lips! What do you feel like the FCC is going to do that they shouldn’t have already done?
Have they been supporting the racism of the Washington Redskins all of these years and suddenly had an epiphany because it’s 2014??
You probably believe that there is really a man in the same moon that a cow jumped over if you think that his whole objective is money.
Who needs a new stadium in Washington, DC?
The Redskins need to withdraw their association with the name Washington.
Can you say Virginia?
New training facility, new stadium and Super Bowl!
Go Redskins to Virginia!!
Easy solution: ‘change’ the name to “Red’s Skins”
Up in Canada, we have a football team named “The Red Blacks”, evidence that more ridiculous names exist.
hopefully this issue exposes the Libs for what they are.. even to the Democratic masses….. Libs are, IMO, the true enemy of a strong America
Hail to the Redskins!