There is an adage for attorney examining witnesses in court, made popular in movies, that says, "Never ask a question that you don't know the answer to."
Fifty senators sign letter demanding Washington Redskins name change
May we present the Washington Redskins and their resistence in a name change.
The Redskins, feeling the pressure of losing a public relations battle over their controversial nickname, took to Twitter on Thursday, asking fans to respond to Senator Harry Reid, who has led a campaign to get the organization to change its nickname.
Tweet @SenatorReid to show your #RedskinsPride and tell him what the team means to you.
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) May 29, 2014
The Redskins likely were confident of support, based on their research that most fans don't want the nickname changed. According to a recent Sporting News poll asking whether fans were in favor of the franchise finding a new name, nearly 13,000 votes were cast, and more than 8,500 - nearly 67 percent - were in favor of keeping the name.
However, another basic tenet of survey-taking says that disgruntled people are the ones likely to respond, rather than people content with the status quo.
As a result, the Redskins' ploy quickly backfired.
Miserably.
@Redskins @SenatorReid This team has ZERO self-awareness.lol — statsjeff (@statsjeff) May 29, 2014
#ChangeTheName @redskins The time is now to do the right thing. Pretty please?
— RichmondOpus (@RichmondOpus) May 29, 2014
@Redskins the team needs to changes its name already and get its fans out of this embarrassing quagmire. I'd like to talk football again. — Newman, Ted (@deuce4922) May 29, 2014
@Redskins how do you not see what a bad idea this is
— emdash (@em_dash01) May 29, 2014
To be fair, one person did tweet a favorable response.
@Redskins @DCRepublicans @SenatorReid I enjoy it whenever the Redskins defeat the Cowboys - Don't change the name!!! — Tom Snyder, Ph.D. (@FilmDoctor) May 29, 2014
USA TODAY Sports' For the Win asked a representative for Senator Reid for a response to the overwhelming response chastising the Redskins.
"Twitter, and social media in general, is a wonderful medium because it gives voice to so many people," Faiz Shakir, Reid's digital director wrote to USA TODAY Sports in an email. "What we saw in the immediate aftermath of the tweet was a collective, overwhelming outpouring that was heavily critical of the Washington football team. It was an utter failure for them, and I hope it causes the organization to reflect on why that occurred."
It's getting to the point where it would seem that owner Daniel Snyder needs to stop creating campaigns to garner support and decide whether it's worth it to keep the name.
Do you want the Washington Redskins to change their name? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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