By giving Kaepernick a chance to work out for them, Raiders continue a proud legacy
Al Davis would be proud. Racism and police brutality have become a regular part of American political dialogue ever since former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick helped launch the conversation by kneeling during the national anthem. George Floyd’s murder focused our attention and brought decades of rage over broken promises to the surface. Throughout it all, some football fans demanded that politics and sports be kept separate, but that has never been the Raider way.
Two years to the day after the brutal murder of Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, the Las Vegas Raiders continued a now 60-year tradition of challenging the status quo, promoting social justice and putting the best players and staff on the field, regardless of their race, gender or sexual orientation.
The Raiders’ longtime owner, Al Davis, was an outspoken advocate for racial and gender equality in professional football.
He made waves in the 1960s when segregation in Southern cities meant that Black and white players couldn’t stay at the same hotel. Upon learning that one of the scheduled exhibition games in Mobile, Ala., would involve both segregated lodging and segregated seating in the stadium, Davis simply said, “I understand, and we’re not coming.”
Two years later, Davis successfully helped organize and lead a boycott of the American Football League All-star Game, forcing the game to be moved from New Orleans to Houston, where hotels, restaurants, and the stadium itself, were not segregated.
That same Al Davis promoted the league’s first Latino starting quarterback and was the first to draft a Black quarterback in the first round. In 1989, he elevated Art Shell, then the Raiders’ offensive coordinator, to become the modern NFL’S first Black head coach.
And in 1997, it was Davis again who hired the NFL’S first female CEO in Amy Trask.
Davis’ son and current Raider’s owner, Mark Davis, has continued that legacy, creating an employee resource group within the organization to support diversity and inclusion. And just a few weeks ago, he tried to redirect the spotlight placed on Las Vegas as the host of the 2022 NFL Draft toward social and economic problems plaguing the city and country.
While allegations lobbed by recently fired team president Dan Ventrelle have the potential to undercut this legacy, there is no question that the Raiders organization has a history of being a potent force for good things in this community and the larger NFL community. They accomplished this, in part, by making it clear that in Raider Nation, players and staff are invited to share their opinions on racism, politics and social justice, without fear of repercussions.
Enter Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick was a second-round draft pick and backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49rs when a midseason concussion to starter Alex Smith put him in the driver’s seat. He led the 49ers to an NFC Championship in 2012. It was the team’s first Super Bowl appearance in almost 20 years. He nearly repeated the feat in 2013 but fell one game short, losing to the division rival Seattle Seahawks in the conference title game.
Despite the young star’s success, he found himself blackballed from the NFL in 2016 after choosing to kneel during the national anthem to raise awareness of police brutality in the United States. He hasn’t taken a snap for an NFL team in the six years since then.
Kaepernick recently told the I Am Athlete podcast that he thinks the NFL has evolved.
“You have ‘End Racism’ in the back of your end zone. You have ‘Black Lives Matter’ on your helmet. Everything I’ve said should be in alignment with what you’re saying publicly,” he said.
Last month, Kaepernick went on record saying he would be willing to reenter the league as a backup, if that’s what it took, and prove his ability on the field. He just wanted a chance.
Only the Raiders know whether the 34-year-old on Wednesday demonstrated enough ability to still play the game at the elite level demanded by the NFL. But no matter the outcome of the football-star-turned-activist’s workout, giving him the opportunity to take the field was the right decision.