Raiders help schools with $250,000 gift

The Raiders announced Tuesday night that they have donated $250,000 to help close an Oakland Unified School District budget gap that led to the district deciding last week to cut 10 high school sports.

“The prospect of these kids losing their dreams was difficult to hear for everyone in the community,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement. “After-school athletics are an important part of the high school experience and this donation will keep student-athletes on the playing fields in Oakland.”

The district said it needed to balance its budget by trimming $500,000 from the Oakland Athletic League, the governing body for high school sports in the district. To do so, it announced the elimination of bowling, boys’ and girls’ golf, boys’ and girls’ tennis, wrestling, swimming, girls’ lacrosse, girls’ badminton, and boys’ volleyball.

“For decades, the Oakland Raiders have been big brothers to our football players and models for all students to emulate,” said Oakland Unified Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “They have been there for us when we were down, and when our students needed someone to look up to.

“But this donation from the Raiders is like a last-second game-winning touchdown . ... $250,000 will go a long way to ensuring that our young people can dedicate themselves on the fields and courts, in the pools, and on the mats this year and beyond. There’s no way to properly thank anyone for such a huge donation, so let me just say from all students, staff and families, we thank the Oakland Raiders, and like us, you will always be OUSD.”

According to the statement, the Raiders’ donation will be distributed by the East Bay Community Foundation in coordination with the Oakland Athletic League.