The National Football League‘s regular season is near the halfway mark, and the winners have begun to separate themselves from the losers. But only one team has had to trot out its general counsel to talk to the media, and the questions he’s been fielding aren’t about the players on the field—they’re about fans’ signs and the First Amendment.
The team is the Washington Redskins, and the GC is David Donovan, who also happens to be the team’s chief operating officer. The ‘Skins are in the midst of another awful season (they’re 2-5), and long-suffering fans have not been shy about expressing their disgust. Many have brought signs and banners to FedEx Field, and the targets of their wrath have often been billionaire owner Dan Snyder (who is also chairman of amusement park operator Six Flags Inc.) and the VP in charge of football operations, Vinny Cerrato.
