DALLAS -- Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder defended his decision to sue Washington City Paper, saying a column and doctored picture of him "crossed the line; it's that simple."
"Enough is enough," said Snyder, who often has come under criticism during his ownership of Washington's NFL team.
He spoke to reporters Friday in Dallas, where the Super Bowl will be played Sunday, and made his first public comments about the lawsuit filed against the weekly paper and its parent company, Atalaya Capital management LP, in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday. The suit seeks at least $1 million in damages for each of the two causes of action, plus punitive damages.
The suit says the story entitled "The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder" defamed him and an accompanying altered photo -- with horns and a beard drawn in pen -- had anti-Semitic references.
The suit claims the weekly newspaper used "lies, half-truths, innuendo and anti-Semitic imagery to smear, malign, defame and slander" Snyder. The suit also says the newspaper reported Snyder engaged in criminal conduct by "forging names."
On Friday, Snyder said: "I respect the media. My father was a journalist. But don't call me a criminal. Don't lie."
He said he wants a personal apology and a correction.
Asked whether he worried about drawing more attention to the story, Snyder replied: "I don't care. What's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. Put horns on me? I'm Jewish. You crazy? You don't do that."
In a post on the newspaper's website Wednesday, managing editor Mike Madden said the image "is meant to resemble the type of scribbling that teenagers everywhere have been using to deface photos for years. The image of Snyder doesn't look like an 'anti-Semitic caricature' -- it looks like a devil."
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
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