Oakland Raiders: League, NFL Owners Show Off Petty, Childish, Vindictive Side

Whether Oakland Raiders fans like it or not – and most of us don’t – the possibility that the Silver and Black may be relocating in the not too distant future seems to be growing by leaps and bounds with each passing day.

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Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf, one of the main antagonists in this fight, has come out swinging, reiterating her position that she supports no plan to build a new stadium that includes the use of taxpayer dollars. Raiders’ owner Mark Davis has stated his position time and time again – his desire is to keep the Silver and Black in Oakland, but he needs help to do so.

Between the money Davis is ponying up for the new stadium, and the projected cost of the new stadium, there still exists a funding gap anywhere between $350-$400 million – and there is no clear resolution to that gap in sight.

The fact of the matter is that the city of Oakland and Alameda County seem dead set determined to bid the Raiders adieu – even after claiming they would “fight like hell” to keep them in the Bay Area

Given the stalemate between the Raiders and the various Bay Area entities – a stalemate that quite frankly, has existed for years – Davis has wisely pursued other alternatives to get a stadium deal done and secure the future of his team.

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And with that future currently in a bit of a state of flux, the league and the other owners have decided that now is the time to show off their petty, childish, and vindictive side. They’ve apparently decided that since former owner Al Davis is gone, now is the time to get over on the Raiders one more time.

As the designs of the proposed stadium the Raiders would own jointly with the San Diego Chargers in Carson have been revealed and passed around, we all saw one of the most unique features of that venue – a 115-120 foot tall tower that would be encased in glass with a large “cauldron” at the top of the structure.

The most unique thing about that tower structure is that depending on which team is playing in the stadium at the time, it would be transformed to make it personalized to that team. For instance, when the Chargers were the home time at the new stadium, the plan was to have lightning bolts shooting around inside of the glass structure. When the Chargers scored a touchdown, lightning bolts would then shoot out of the cauldron at the top of the tower.

But when the Raiders were on the field, the tower would have a more meaningful and symbolic purpose for the organization. In recreating the tower that currently graces the O.co Coliseum – a memorial tribute to the Raiders’ late, iconic owner – the glass structure of the tower in the Carson stadium would fill with fire, remaking the “eternal flame” tribute to Davis.

According to Dan Kaplan of Sports Business Journal though, the younger Davis has agreed to abandon plans to include the memorial to his father in the stadium plans because, “many in the league… were not pleased” with it.

Simply put, the younger Davis agreed to ditch the tribute to the elder Davis after being pressured by other members of the league who – if he can’t work out a deal to stay in Oakland – hold his fate in their hands.

Could these rich, old men be any more ridiculously petty, childish, or vindictive?

We get it. The elder Davis was something of a – nuisance to the league at times. Yes, he spent a lot of time in litigation with the league. And sometimes seemed to take a special joy in thumbing his nose at not just the league, but his fellow owners as well. That’s just who Al was – cantankerous, litigious, and rebellious to the end.

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But he also did more for the league than most all of today’s NFL team owners. He was there at the beginning, helping merge the AFL and the NFL. He fought for civil rights, refusing to allow his team to play in any city where hotels were racially segregated. He was a trailblazer who hired the league’s first black coach. He hired the league’s first female CEO.

Most people only seem to remember Al Davis for his unfortunate love of velvet jump suits and really bad roster decisions. But the NFL today might not be everything that it is without the influence of Al Davis. He did a lot to promote and develop this league we all love so much.

But these disgustingly petty, childish, and vindictive people feel the need to kick Mark Davis and the Raiders while they’re down simply because they can.

Who does the proposed tower memorial in the new stadium plans hurt? Does it diminish Jerry Jones and the Cowboys? Does it weaken the brand of Zigi Wylf and the Vikings? Does it somehow degrade the Rooney family and the Steelers? Or does it somehow overshadow Roger Goodell and the league offices?

The answer to all of those questions and more like them is a resounding – NO.

The only reason that everybody gathered at the recently concluded owner’s meetings in San Francisco put the squeeze on Mark Davis about the planned memorial tower inside of the stadium was because they could. Because they wanted to thumb their nose at Al Davis and the Raiders one last time.

It was a memorial to a man that meant a lot to the organization and the Raiders’ fans. No, the last several years with Al at the helm weren’t great, but that doesn’t diminish what he did for the franchise – or for the league.

It is only right and decent to allow the organization to honor its former patriarch with the memorial. It is only right and decent to allow the organization’s fans to pay their respects to the former patriarch of the franchise with the memorial.

But then, among a good number of the people who populate the league, “right” and “decent” is in critically short supply.

Forcing Mark Davis to scrap the plans for the tribute to his father – in his own stadium – is the ultimate in bush league maneuvers. It’s disrespectful and it’s wrong. But then, what else would you expect from a group of rich, old men who are petty, childish, and vindictive simply because they can be?

Next: Oakland Raiders: 5 Players Who Have the Most to Prove in 2015