You created a billion-dollar business, which made a mint in direct marketing, but since buying the Redskins in 1999, you have been losing a major P.R. war. There has been this constant drumbeat of negative stories about you.

You mean overkill? I think the media overblows most things. My father was a University of Missouri journalism grad, and when he was alive, he’d say, “At U.P.I., we weren’t allowed to do what they’re doing on the Internet, putting stuff out whether it’s true or not.”

Is it really overkill? If I can be honest with you, I’ve spoken to several lifelong Redskins fans who are so distraught about your ownership that they say the only way to save the team is for you to sell it or even die.

Well, when you’re losing, that’s what they wish. When you’re winning, they think you’re doing a great job. We haven’t been in the playoffs since the ’07 season. I think you need to realize it’s binary.

George Steinbrenner once said, “Having people scream nasty things at you is part of sports.” Do you agree?

Yes. Actually, in 2000, George Steinbrenner called after Tony Kornheiser had written a piece about me that he had noticed. After that, he would send me kind notes, very funny notes, actually. One year we were struggling, and he said to me: “When you get it right, you’ll know. Heck, they used to boo me, and then they gave me parades.”

Earlier this year, you sued The Washington City Paper for publishing “The Cranky Redskins Fan’s Guide to Dan Snyder,” which, among other things, claimed that your company had engaged in some shady business practices. Have you read the article?

No.