Political Blogger Hired To Defend Redskins Name Resigns After 2 Weeks

About two weeks ago, the Washington Redskins hired Ben Tribbett to "help guide the team's battle over their controversial nickname."

On the surface, this made sense. Tribbett was a liberal blogger for his site, "Not Larry Sabato," which he shut down after joining the Redskins. Tribbett, 34, whose background is in Democratic politics in Virginia, defended the Redskins name even before the team hired him.

The Washington Post recently ran Tribbett's Facebook post from last October as a reminder:

Put aside for the moment whether the Boston Tea Party argument is legitimate or overlooks what might have actually happened, because Tribbett is now done with the Redskins.

What prompted Tribbett to resign after just two weeks? The plot thickens quickly.

Tribbett's main claim to fame on Not Larry Sabato was breaking the George Allen "macaca" story in 2006. During a campaign stop while running for a second term as U.S. Senator from Virginia, Allen used the word "macaca" when he spoke to a supporter of his opponent, Jim Webb.

The "macaca" in question was S.R. Sidarth, a rising college senior on Webb's campaign who had been filming Allen's rallies that week. Sidarth is a second-generation Indian-American and a Hindu, and Tribbett insisted that "macaca" was a racial slur. Allen, who had previously been governor of Virginia, said he had made up the word.

Allen lost the election. Tribbett's attacks on him stemming from the macaca controversy were a factor. Even years after the campaign, the flap about the word continued. The issue flared up again after the Redskins hired him, this time to Tribbett's detriment, as cited the Washingtonian:

So, Tribbett made a name for himself by bashing a politician for being racist and then he became the man in charge of defending what he had once considered to be a racist name.

Then there is the issue of George Allen. His father, also named George Allen, was Redskins coach from 1971-1977, which included an appearance in Super Bowl VII. His brother is Bruce Allen -- president and general manager of the Redskins.

It could not get any weirder, right?

Wrong. Of course it can.

The Indian Country Today Media Network discovered some of his tweets -- which can be viewed as being derogatory toward Native Americans -- from a Las Vegas casino in 2010:

Late Monday night, Tribbett began to wave the white flag and then called it quits. In addition to his resignation tweet, here's what he posted.

Tribbett proceeded to retweet what appears to be a shot at him from Keith Olbermann and a user going by House of #Nats:

In an exclusive interview with the Washingtonian, Tribbett had the following to say:

"The team name is not what people are making it out to be. I don't agree with what's going on with the attacks on it. I was on record with that long before I joined them. Frankly, the Redskins, when I was growing up, brought the community together more than anything. I don't want to see them change the name. I just don't want to be at the forefront of the debate."

And with that, Ben Tribbett's two weeks in the Redskins' front office is over. He was hired to defend the team's name. Instead, he brought negative publicity to himself and the franchise.

Kids, the Internet can be your best friend or your enemy. Let Ben Tribbett serve as an example.

[H/T Indian Country Today Media Network, Buzzfeed, The Washington Post]

-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.