In the mid-1970s, a lawyer from the Akron, Ohio, firm Roetzel & Andress wrote to the Cleveland Browns football team with a complaint about paper airplanes being tossed around old Municipal Stadium.
The planes, according to lawyer Dale O. Cox, could cause injury and the stadium would be held responsible. But James N. Bailey, general counsel for the team, responded with a memorable two-sentence letter.
“Attached is a letter that we received on Nov. 19, 1974. I feel that you should be aware that some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters,” it read.
Check out our feature, “Shut Up! The Art of Cease-and-Desist Letters,” in the July 2018 issue of the ABA Journal.
Attribution: Photos by Vince Grzegorek/Cleveland Scene; Everett Collection; Shutterstock.com.
