Protests and demonstrations have been occurring across the country in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer last week. The demonstrations, which at times have escalated to rioting, began in Minneapolis, but quickly were taken up in cities everywhere. This includes Oakland, where the Raiders are currently located, and Las Vegas where the Raiders are preparing to relocate this offseason.
Raiders owner Mark Davis felt he needed to weigh in on the matter, so he put out a statement. Here is what he said.
The Murder of George Floyd
“To watch a man be murdered by a uniformed police officer kneeling on the man’s throat for 9 minutes while 3 uniformed police officers either assisted or stood by watching is disturbing in too many ways. To be honest I’m surprised that the resulting violence hasn’t been much worse. Emotions are high, the temperature is hot, and there’s static in the air. But Burning your brother’s house down is ultimately not the answer. Not only do we have to tell people there is something wrong, we have to come up with solutions. That’s the challenge in front of us. Not only as Americans, but as human beings.”
– Mark Davis
The response on Twitter has been somewhat mixed, as you might expect. Davis felt like the owner of a historically diverse franchise simultaneously representing two diverse cities, he couldn’t remain silent on the matter.
As for the history of diversity with the Raiders, Mark’s father Al’s efforts to hire minorities well ahead of others is well documented. The franchise had the first Hispanic American quarterback and minority head coach in Tom Flores. The fir African American head coach in Art Shell and the first and still the only ever female CEO in Amy Trask. Not to mention Davis taking fliers on players other teams deemed to be bad apples.
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