Those other owners who have been “very very supportive” of Washington owner Daniel Snyder’s “all caps never” approach to the team name have managed to avoid talking about their “very very” support. For Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, that inevitably will change.
Perhaps soon.
According to Ian Shapira of the Washington Post, the University of Minnesota wants the Vikings to avoid using the Washington team name in any “promotional and game date materials” when the Vikings host Washington at the University of Minnesota’s stadium on November 2. The Vikings will play home games at the Minnesota venue for two seasons, while the team’s new stadium is being built.
The disclosure came in an August 1 letter from University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler to U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), who previously urged Wilf to condemn the name of Snyder’s franchise.
Vikings executive V.P. of public affairs Lester Bagley said that the team is still deciding how it will handle the university’s request that the Vikings avoid using the name, and that a meeting on the issue occurred in late July.
“We take the issue very seriously, but we’re just getting ready for our season and we’ve been very focused on training camp and the preseason, and to be honest, we don’t have a game plan for our Nov. 2 game versus Washington,” Bagley told the Post.
The fact that Bagley said anything other than “Why in the hell wouldn’t we mention the name of the team we’re playing?” shows that, despite whatever support Snyder may be getting privately, other owners aren’t willing to publicly co-sign the team’s position that anyone who has a concern about the name is wrong, unreasonable, and/or trolling for clicks.
[Photo credit: University of Minnesota]