Washington’s NFL franchise, egged on by a letter sent last week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and nearly all of his Democratic colleagues criticizing the racial slur the team uses as its name, attempted Thursday afternoon to turn the conversation around and ask its fans defend the name.
“Please show Senator Reid your #RedskinsPride and tell him what the team means to you,” the team wrote in an e-mail to fans.
It didn’t go so well. In the grand tradition of large, controversial organizations having hashtags backfire on them (see the New York Police Department’s recent #MyNYPD fiasco), #RedskinsPride was quickly overtaken by Twitter users calling out the team for the derogatory nature of its name.
Please tell me more on how you want to appropriate my culture #RedskinsPride
Lost amid the critical entries were plenty of laudatory tweets from fans saying they love their favorite team’s name. But Reid’s office, which had gotten a formal reply to his letter last weekend from newly minted team president Bruce Allen, enjoyed Snyder’s hashtag fail.
“The Washington football team had a disastrous and tone-deaf PR effort yesterday,” Faiz Shakir, Reid’s digital director, writes in an e-mail to Washingtonian. “The hashtag was trending nationally, and we engaged lots of people into the debate. The replies on our Twitter feed were overwhelmingly in opposition to the team.”
Possibly unrelated: the team’s job board has a current posting for a social media intern.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
“#RedskinsPride” Twitter Campaign Backfires Horribly on Team
The Redskins failed at the internet.
Washington’s NFL franchise, egged on by a letter sent last week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and nearly all of his Democratic colleagues criticizing the racial slur the team uses as its name, attempted Thursday afternoon to turn the conversation around and ask its fans defend the name.
“Please show Senator Reid your #RedskinsPride and tell him what the team means to you,” the team wrote in an e-mail to fans.
It didn’t go so well. In the grand tradition of large, controversial organizations having hashtags backfire on them (see the New York Police Department’s recent #MyNYPD fiasco), #RedskinsPride was quickly overtaken by Twitter users calling out the team for the derogatory nature of its name.
Lost amid the critical entries were plenty of laudatory tweets from fans saying they love their favorite team’s name. But Reid’s office, which had gotten a formal reply to his letter last weekend from newly minted team president Bruce Allen, enjoyed Snyder’s hashtag fail.
“The Washington football team had a disastrous and tone-deaf PR effort yesterday,” Faiz Shakir, Reid’s digital director, writes in an e-mail to Washingtonian. “The hashtag was trending nationally, and we engaged lots of people into the debate. The replies on our Twitter feed were overwhelmingly in opposition to the team.”
Possibly unrelated: the team’s job board has a current posting for a social media intern.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Cassidy Hutchinson: Five Things
Roe v. Wade Was Overturned. These Protests Are Happening Around DC.
Death and the All-American Boy
George Huguely and Yeardley Love: Love, Death, and Lacrosse
Meet Matt Boyle, Breitbart’s (Other) Man in the White House
Washingtonian Magazine
July 2022: Summer Music Guide
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
Nationals to Retire Ryan Zimmerman’s Number 11 on Saturday
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This June
Not Just Foxes: 5 Animals You Might Spot at the US Capitol
How Rosa Parks Befriended a DC Hotel Owner
More from News & Politics
Airbnb Makes Its Party Ban Permanent
A First of Its Kind March on the National Mall Counters Anti-Asian Racism
Photos From a Weekend of Abortion Rights Protests at the Supreme Court
Devastation, Joy, and Fury: Reactions From the Supreme Court
Roe v. Wade Was Overturned. These Protests Are Happening Around DC.
PHOTOS: DC’s British Embassy Caps Off Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee
Photos from the Supreme Court: Roe v. Wade Has Been Overturned
50 Years After Title IX: Why Survivors Still Need More Protections