Raiders president out, NFL to probe

Las Vegas Raiders team president Dan Ventrelle has left the organization less than a year after taking over the job.

Owner Mark Davis announced in a statement Friday that Ventrelle “is no longer with the Raiders organization” but divulged no details around the decision.

Ventrelle said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he was fired in retaliation for bringing concerns from multiple employees to the NFL about a “hostile work environment.”

“When Mark was confronted about these issues, he was dismissive and did not demonstrate the warranted level of concern,” Ventrelle said in the statement. “Given this, I informed the NFL of these issues and of Mark’s unacceptable response. Soon thereafter, I was fired in retaliation for raising these concerns. I firmly stand by my decision to elevate these issues to protect the organization and its female employees.”

The Raiders had no comment on Ventrelle’s statement.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league officials “recently became aware of these allegations and take them very seriously. We will promptly look into the matter.”

Ventrelle took over as team president on an interim basis last July after Marc Badain resigned. Ventrelle was promoted to the full-time role after the season ended in January.

Ventrelle and Badain played key roles in the Raiders’ move from Oakland, California, to Las Vegas but both are gone before the team starts its third season in Nevada.

The Raiders have also undergone significant changes on the football side of the organization with coach Jon Gruden resigning last October following the publication of offensive emails he sent before taking the job. General manager Mike Mayock was fired after the season.

Despite the turmoil, the Raiders made the playoffs last season for the second time in 19 seasons.

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Jets: New York signed cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner to a fully guaranteed four-year deal worth $38.7 million, the first of the team’s seven draft picks to get under contract.

The team announced the signing Saturday after the second day of rookie minicamp.

The deal for Gardner, the No. 4 overall pick last week, includes a $25.3 million signing bonus and has a standard fifth-year option.

According to the Jets, Gardner, a former star at Cincinnati, becomes the team’s fastest first-rounder to sign his rookie deal in the past 40 years.

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