Redskins urge fans to troll Sen. Harry Reid, and it doesn't go well

By foxsports
Published

The Washington Redskins have launched a Twitter onslaught at Sen. Harry Reid in their campaign to keep the team's name.

The Redskins instructed fans Thursday to tweet the Nevada Democrat to show their "RedskinsPride" and "tell him what the team means to you."

Fans did just that -- but not always in a manner the Redskins would have preferred, with many telling Reid they support his efforts to change the name. Soon, both "RedskinsPride" and "changethename" were trending in the D.C. area.

Reid said last month that Redskins owner Dan Snyder should "do what is morally right" and change the name. Last week, half of the Senate wrote letters to the NFL urging a change, calling the name a racist slur.

Snyder, meanwhile, has vowed never to change the name.

After many of the responses on twitter backfired on the Redskins, Reid's digital director, Faiz Shakir, told the Washington Post that the failed Twitter campaign had "really made our day."

"What we saw was a collective, overwhelming outpouring that was heavily critical of the team. I hope that causes the organization to reflect on why that occurred," Shakir said.

Here's just a sampling of the twitter backlash: