A liberal blogger enlisted by the Washington Redskins to defend the team’s much-maligned moniker has resigned a mere two weeks after he was hired.
Ben Tribbett, a liberal blogger and activist based in Virginia, announced Monday night on Twitter that he was stepping down from his role with the team because he believes he had become a “distraction.”
Obv. this issue with Redskins is one where I don’t see eye to eye with some friends. I just don’t agree with the attacks on the team name.
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) July 8, 2014
I don’t want to be a distraction to the team as the political attacks have shifted towards being personal towards me.
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) July 8, 2014
So I’m going to send in my resignation to the Redskins. Hopefully that allows debate to move back to where it should be.
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) July 8, 2014
Tribbett added one more tweet to signal that his loyalties haven’t changed.
PS- Hail to the Redskins!
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) July 8, 2014
Tribbett was hired just two weeks ago by the team in a move interpreted as an effort to stem the political tide against the racially charged moniker.
“I have been a Redskins fan my entire life,” Tribbett, who’s worked in Democratic politics, said after he was hired. “It is an honor to help the team promote a tradition that means so much to so many people.”
Much of the criticism aimed at the team name has come from the left. In late-May, fifty U.S. senators, all Democrats, sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell urging him to force a name change.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), meanwhile, has aggressively gone after Redskins owner Daniel Snyder.
The Democratic leader said last month that the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s decision to cancel six of the Redskins’ trademark registrations proved that a name change is inevitable.
