Did the Wizards help Washington dodge bullets?

Abstract

This paper looks at crime in Washington D.C. after the Washington Bullets NBA basketball team changed its name to the Washington Wizards in 1997. The team’s owner changed the name because he believed that the Bullets name promoted gun violence. The name change was combined with a team-sponsored community anti-violence campaign in hopes that these changes would reduce gun violence in Washington. We examine the impact of these changes on Washington crime using synthetic control models. Our analysis suggests that the name change and anti-violence campaign had no effect on murder in Washington.