Is Dan Synder a good person?

[Destino]

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Some of the stories that get posted up on here might be true, some might not be...some might be exaggerations. But I can't imagine they're all totally 100% false and that Dan Snyder is a good dude.

Completely agree.

[Wrong Direction]

I don't think you need anecdotes for proof. All we have to do is look at how he treats fans. The parking debacles, lawsuits, continuous nickle and diming, and of course the sign/protest controversies.

This guy's a ****.

[Phixius]

I do know that he's a loser. Six Flags, College dropout,running the Redskins organization, a few other failed business. He's a loser with a low self esteem. I'm reading about the things he's done to people. Snyder isn't as much of a bully as people think he is. Look, he's banned all signs at Fedex Field. "prevent injuries to fans and from blocking other fans view" You expect me to believe that?. All of sudden when the team gets very harsh criticism, he doesn't want any signs in the stadium. He gets the guard to tell the fans to stop chanting "Snyder sucks" or "Sell the Team" because he can't take it. He refuses to talk to the media because he's tired of getting beat up.

Snyder thinks he can push people around. He's finally met his match with thousands of Redskins fans tired of putting up with his crap, former players, the media bashing him. Based on how he acts, he's insecure. He's a coward and a loser.

Anyway, I found this interesting article created a few years ago about Snyder. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/sports/1679.html

My opinion on Snyder doesn't change at all.

[SkinsNumberOne]

Everyone may want to take a peek at this article for some insight into this question.

I haven't read it too closely yet but it seems highly relevant.

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/sports/1679.html

*Awesome, post right above mine with the exact same link. Blast being on the phone at the same time (which is why I haven't read it closely yet)!!

[MumboSauce]

I'd say no, but I chose hard to say because I don't personally know the man...I go by articles, and he said she said.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Everyone may want to take a peek at this article for some insight into this question.

I haven't read it too closely yet but it seems highly relevant.

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/sports/1679.html

*Awesome, post right above mine with the exact same link. Blast being on the phone at the same time (which is why I haven't read it closely yet)!!

Well of course, the people closest to him are going to say nice things about him. Of course, he was going to be nice to Joe Gibbs and donate money to his cause. Who here wouldn't be courteous to Joe Gibbs, especially the older fans who can remember the glory days? Who here wouldn't donate money to his cause if they could easily afford it?

What would your friends say about you? Of course the people around you are going to tell you that they like you.

There are some good anecdotes in the story, but it ends on this note:

I ask Snyder why his image hasn’t improved. We are the last ones in the restaurant. Snyder is sipping cappuccino.

“I really haven’t worked at it,” he says.

Nobodies fault but his. Especially when the times are lean like this, when the economy is in the ****ter and the team is just as awful. Snyder could do things to make himself more accessible to the fan base, make some promotions, make us still feel proud to be Skins fans despite the rough times. But he doesn't. And thats his fault.

You'll also notice in that article, most of the people who he has time for are other rich people. I get the feeling from the stories kicked around on here that if you don't have a ton of money or if you're not famous, you're not worth Snyders time.

[InsaneBoost]

He seems like a fine person to me. He does stuff that might piss us off, but behind being the owner, I'm sure he's a good guy.

[KokoMike]

Dear Dan.

I love the Washington Redskins. I have since I was a kid listening to them on the radio in the 1960's. I've paid for season tickets for 32 years now.

Is there anything i can do to help the Redskins achieve great success, other than just paying $2500 a year for tickets, cheering, and buying a lot of Redskin products?

I've given a lot, but the return on investment has been poor since you bought the team. The Redskins experience is not much fun...now and for a long time now.

Is it OK with you if I cancel my tickets for next year?

If the answer is yes, it is a truly sad revelation.

[bubba9497]

never met him, so I can't give an answer

[Redskins Anonymous]

never met him, so I can't give an answer

Yes you can. I never met Saddam, but i know he was a bad person - a far worse person than Snyder. The point being you can based off of the entirety of what you know of that person.

[porculator]

Snyder charged FEMA to use the parking lot for his Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans immediately following Katrina. That answered that question for me.

[JoeGibbs3.0]

Yes you can. I never met Saddam, but i know he was a bad person - a far worse person than Snyder. The point being you can based off of the entirety of what you know of that person.

destroyed bubba .

I never met hitler. I could tell you he is a bad person.

I never met the dc snyder. I could tell you he is a bad person.

I could tell you Snyder is a bad person.

1. Making Norv turner wait 7 hours alone in the basement of fed ex and now showing up. Why not just fire the man and leave him with dignity. Not twisting in the wind.

2. Firing all the old time redskins employees who worked there for 40 plus years for no reason. No breach of care.

Yes he is a bad person.

[TheDane]

During my six years working at a private equity firm that invested in communications companies similar to Snyder Communications, I heard four second-hand stories (that I can remember) about Snyder. They all painted him as a jerk who belittled his colleagues, used inappropriate humor, and suffered from a severe case of elitism. Every story came from someone I trusted. One came from a Cowboys fan, one a Patriots fan, and two from a non-football fan born and raised in Canada.

Take from that what you will. I know it's formed an opinion that's stuck with me for a long time. Even in my dark days when I naively tried to support Snyder because of his willingness to spend, I admitted he had a loathsome character.

That said, Jack Kent Cooke also was a dick. He was just a good owner, so we ignored that flaw.

[iMeast]

Who knows ...

HTTR

[Mephisto]

I can't judge him as a person, but he's probably a nice guy. He just doesn't know wtf he's doing as an owner.

[SkinsNumberOne]

Nobodies fault but his. Especially when the times are lean like this, when the economy is in the ****ter and the team is just as awful. Snyder could do things to make himself more accessible to the fan base, make some promotions, make us still feel proud to be Skins fans despite the rough times. But he doesn't. And thats his fault.

You'll also notice in that article, most of the people who he has time for are other rich people. I get the feeling from the stories kicked around on here that if you don't have a ton of money or if you're not famous, you're not worth Snyders time.

I dislike Snyder and what he's done to the team as much as anyone, but I kind of doubt Jerry Jones (or many of the other owners for that matter) is a "man of the people" or something. I'm sure they also prefer the company of richers (good old South Park).

Snyder does have Fan Appreciation Day, and some other activities to spur interest and get fans involved. One of the stories that I thought was especially poignant and relevant to the topic was this:

Joe Mendes, who worked in player development with the Redskins before and during Snyder’s regime, said Snyder “went the extra mile” to help him when his father was ill and his wife’s father died. Mendes had an office across from Snyder’s at Redskins Park. They saw or spoke to each other several times a day during the season. He lost a power struggle with Vinny Cerrato, vice president of football operations, in 2003 and now runs Cornerstone, a sports consulting company.

“I genuinely like Dan Snyder,” says Mendes. “He is a good person.” Mendes had lunch one day at Snyder’s mansion and saw his kids crawl all over him. He says, “It validated my sense that he’s a warm and caring individual.”

Warm and caring. Arrogant and interfering. Which is it?

It sounds like that last quote is coming from Mendes since he's been fired. I think that says something.

I'm not saying Snyder is a good guy. There's plenty of evidence to say he's not simply a "good guy" - but there may be some evidence here to suggest he's not simply a "bad guy" either.

Maybe to some he's fairly dismissive and mean, and to others (I don't think Joe Mendes would qualify as "rich" or a colleague or peer - more simply an "employee" I think to Snyder) it seems like he can show kindness. OK, I have to admit, writing Snyder and kindness there seemed weird. I blame that quote above... haha.

[TheDane]

Sorry. You don't have to believe my stories, and you can doubt the trust I place in my sources.

But I don't.

I have always wondered where these stories of "Dan the Nice Guy" come from. They are so polar opposite from what I know to be true.

I am unable to use logic to rationalize the two hemispheres.

[Redskins Anonymous]

I dislike Snyder and what he's done to the team as much as anyone, but I kind of doubt Jerry Jones (or many of the other owners for that matter) is a "man of the people" or something. I'm sure they also prefer the company of richers (good old South Park).

Snyder does have Fan Appreciation Day, and some other activities to spur interest and get fans involved. One of the stories that I thought was especially poignant and relevant to the topic was this:

It sounds like that last quote is coming from Mendes since he's been fired. I think that says something.

I'm not saying Snyder is a good guy. There's plenty of evidence to say he's not simply a "good guy" - but there may be some evidence here to suggest he's not simply a "bad guy" either.

Maybe to some he's fairly dismissive and mean, and to others (I don't think Joe Mendes would qualify as "rich" or a colleague or peer - more simply an "employee" I think to Snyder) it seems like he can show kindness. OK, I have to admit, writing Snyder and kindness there seemed weird. I blame that quote above... haha.

I know as a matter of fact that Stalin was cool with his kids. Still he was a homocidal maniac which made him a bad person. (As previously stated, if Danny is a bad person which I believe he is, he is 1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000th the bad person Stalin was.)

Many times, bad people are still "good people" around those they care about. I have no doubt that Danny is a great father. But when I hear the repeated stories and am able to see it with my own eyes, I don't care that he actually deigns to spend time with his kids. Wow, good for him. If he were a person of any CHARACTER AND DECENCY we wouldn't be seeing security damn near tasering people for t-shirts, and we WOULD SEE ACCOUNTABLILTY COMING FROM THE TOP.

If he were a person of any character, he himself would be able to admit fault. He is pathologically incapable of doing so. So being that he has zero character, I can say that yes he is truly a bad person.

But people change. that is the only hope.

[Big Weirdo]

From a fan on the outside in the same division I can say I dont know.

One thing I do know. He comes off like a real douche. Anyone who tells you to refer to them as Mr. (Insert last name). Right off the bat thats a red flag. Maybe its just me but I would never ask any of my employees, friends, family, acquaintances, etc etc to call me that.

IMO he has an issue with his height. A Napoleonic Complex. I wonder if he was picked on in high school and now hes like the nerd who finally gets his revenge. Thats an exaggeration but I think something along those lines happened to him. He exudes arrogance.

[SkinsNumberOne]

Sorry. You don't have to believe my stories, and you can doubt the trust I place in my sources.

But I don't.

I have always wondered where these stories of "Dan the Nice Guy" come from. They are so polar opposite from what I know to be true.

I am unable to use logic to rationalize the two hemispheres.

I know as a matter of fact that Stalin was cool with his kids. Still he was a homocidal maniac which made him a bad person. (As previously stated, if Danny is a bad person which I believe he is, he is 1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000th the bad person Stalin was.)

Many times, bad people are still "good people" around those they care about. I have no doubt that Danny is a great father. But when I hear the repeated stories and am able to see it with my own eyes, I don't care that he actually deigns to spend time with his kids. Wow, good for him. If he were a person of any CHARACTER AND DECENCY we wouldn't be seeing security damn near tasering people for t-shirts, and we WOULD SEE ACCOUNTABLILTY COMING FROM THE TOP.

If he were a person of any character, he himself would be able to admit fault. He is pathologically incapable of doing so. So being that he has zero character, I can say that yes he is truly a bad person.

But people change. that is the only hope.

So I have to admit, I've had a long day, was just on the phone for a long time, and was posting in this thread at the same time. My point being, I didn't read the whole thread yet.

I am reading these responses (it appears - TheDane didn't quote anyone) to my post above though.

First of all, you have to give some context to "a good person." I don't think you can easily dismiss some of the stories in that article. I'm not saying they are true or false; I don't know, but that is part of the point. The sources seem to have enough credibility to at least give you a doubt if you were previously certain Dan was "bad."

But again, back to this usage of "bad" and "good." I think probably the best way to judge Dan is by his peers, and I'm not sure - at least in my opinion - when making a subjective argument of "bad" and "good" I have from my perspective enough to say he's bad or good in relation to other owners in the league. As I said, I may "think" that Dan doesn't seem like a guy I'd want to hang out with, but then again, I could say the same for 90-100% of the owners in the NFL. He doesn't really stand out as "bad" or "good" to me. You judge by his peers.

Anyway, as others have pointed out, JKC's stewardship of the team (and the popularity) really kind of reveals the underlying truth here- no one cares. It's just about the team, which isn't playing good football now. That's all we really care about anyway.

[Toe Jam]

I can't pass judgment on a guy I've never met.

Not sure how any of you could either.

[SkinsNumberOne]

I can't pass judgment on a guy I've never met.

Not sure how any of you could either.

I am not sure what specific kind of post/comment you're talking about, but I think there's a line between making an estimation based on what a public image provides (and investigating), and "passing judgment."

Hopefully no one is "passing judgment" without more insight than the average person (TheDane has more insight than the average person, for example).

[Mercuryrising]

While we're here, heard a story this weekend....

A guy I see once or twice a year was hired by the NFL to help find the next commissioner who turned out to be Roger Goodell. This guys job was to travel and meet with all 32 team owners. So he met with everyone, Al Davis, Jerrah, Kraft, the Rooney Family, etc. Basically he had to sit down with them and find out what they wanted from the next commissioner for the NFL.

By all accounts, all the owners were welcoming and accommodating. The Rooneys even had him to their house for dinner.

Guess who the ******** of the group was?

So this guy goes to Redskins Park, he's there with an associate. They wait...and wait...and wait...

Finally Snyder comes out and goes "No, I want to meet with you when you have more of your people with you. I'm not meeting with two people." and balls out.

So of course the guy and his associate are pissed. Snyder kept them waiting and then refused to meet with them because there weren't enough people with him!

So he goes back with a crew of 5 people. Same deal, Snyder keeps them all waiting, finally comes out in his workout clothes. Actually apologizes, says that he lost track of time in the gym but he's ordered lunch for everyone.

They go into the meeting room and there's tons of Chinese food boxes all over the conference room table. You know the ones you get when you get carry-out or delivery. Anyway, it's some odd hour, no ones really hungry.

So Snyder sits down and the guy starts to go in and ask questions and after a couple minutes Snyder goes "Yeah, you guys look like you know what you're doing, you'll do a good job." and just gets up and leaves.

That was it! He wasted SO much of this guys time, was the least considerate owner BY FAR and offered practically NO input as to what kind of commissioner he wanted.

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Some of the stories that get posted up on here might be true, some might not be...some might be exaggerations. But I can't imagine they're all totally 100% false and that Dan Snyder is a good dude.

I will say, however, he stepped up to the plate and handled the whole Sean Taylor thing really well.

But that tragedy, horrific as it was, doesn't outweigh all the stories on here and the fact that he's a ****ing awful owner.

I'm gonna vote "no"

I find this story really hard to believe. Snyder wines and dines everyone. Most people with large egos and wealth love to show it off, and he is no exception. Also he wouldn't want a say into the commish selection process? That doesn't sound like the power grabbing Snyder we have all come to know so well....

[Redskins Anonymous]

I can't pass judgment on a guy I've never met.

Not sure how any of you could either.

If you have ever voted, you have passed judgement on somebody you have never met.

If you have ever read a history book, you have read judgements on people by people who have never met them.

If you think Bin Ladden is a bad guy, you have passed judgement on somebody you have never met.

Spare me, you may not know them as a person, but you still can judge them based off of what you know.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I find this story really hard to believe. Snyder wines and dines everyone. Most people with large egos and wealth love to show it off, and he is no exception. Also he wouldn't want a say into the commish selection process? That doesn't sound like the power grabbing Snyder we have all come to know so well....

Thats cool man, I'm not expecting everyone to believe it. It was told to me 2nd hand by someone that we mutually know. I'll see the guy in January who actually met with Snyder and see if I can get the lowdown from him in person.