The Washington Redskins Will Sue Your Grandmother Into Bankruptcy

A recent Washington Post story mentioned that the Redskins have been suing season ticket holders who backed out of their onerous seat contracts. Apparently that story wasn't sad enough, so here's a picture of a crying grandma Daniel Snyder bankrupted.

This is Pat Hill. She's had season tickets since the early 1960s. Her daughter used to dance for the Redskins. She's a 73-year-old real estate dealer who lives on $400 a month in social security, because no one in this country has enough money to buy a house. In 2007, she signed a 10-year, $5,300-a-year contract to purchase two premium seats at FedEx Field and when she kindly asked for a couple of years off to get back on her feet, the team sued her into oblivion.

Hill's is just one of many sob stories featured in this series about the dastardly Washington ticket office—that I am no fan of—but when you read the tales of woe, they get slightly less sympathetic. Some of those who were sued admitted that they barely read the contract they signed. One who says he was "cheated," actually got exactly what he was looking for through negotiation. One lawyer complained that they sued his client after he was declared schizophrenic, but the next sentence conveniently mentions that the Redskins abandoned the lawsuit. Same thing for the guy who was in jail for embezzlement. (The Nationals actually gave that dude free tickets.) Most had full judgments rendered against them because they never showed up for trial.

Hill didn't respond to her lawsuit because she "doesn't believe in bankruptcy." (Seriously.) However, the tale of her Redskins "choo-choo" train that she had to sell is very sad indeed. Daniel Snyder haters are likely boiling over with rage at this point, but the Redskins say they do everything they can to work out payments plans and in any case, they gots to get paid.

Washington Redskins React to Fans' Tough Luck With Tough Love [Washington Post] Daniel Snyder and the Economics of Fan Stupidity [Stet Sports Blog] Previously: Redskins Cut Out Middle Man, Sell Directly To Scalpers