Comforting a dad who bleeds silver and black
Q: Should Raiders fans have any anger in their heart toward Mark Davis?
A: You’re gonna have some anger toward him. I think some fans will, because obviously he’s the owner of the team . ... I really put this on the Oakland City Council. I think Oakland public officials — me having lived in that city, born and raised there, born in Kaiser Hospital right downtown there on Broadway, I’ve seen what that city’s been through, and the Raiders have been the identity of that city, especially for the last 22 years. All Mark Davis has been doing is trying to get a stadium.
Q: The Warriors paid for their own stadium, the Giants paid for their own stadium, so we can’t really ask that the City Council pay for a millionaire’s play toy.
A: No, I agree. He waited around and got the best deal, I think, in NFL history. When someone gives you $750 million to bring your team, that’s huge. ... I just know there are ways it could have been done because the way those proposals came in at the end was a lot better than what we’ve seen over the last 15 and 20 years when this team was trying to find a stadium. That’s the reason Al Davis brought them back to Oakland.
Q: Will the move to Vegas be a distraction to the players on the field?
A: No, I don’t think so. We have the closure, we know the Raiders are going to be moving on, they are going to be leaving in a couple years. As an NFL player my job is to go out and produce on the field. I can’t worry about what’s going to happen two or three years from now, and, to be honest, how many of these guys are going to be on the team when they move to Vegas? I’ve sat in eight years of locker rooms where every single year the locker room is different. You expect Derek Carr and Khalil Mack to be there, but, I mean, look at (Colin) Kaepernick. If I would’ve told you five years ago he wouldn’t be on the 49ers, you wouldn’t have believed it.
Q: What would you tell a Raiders fan who has season tickets and is very disgruntled right now?
A: That’s an ongoing discussion right now in my family. I had to call my dad yesterday to make sure he didn’t jump off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Q: What was your dad’s initial reaction?
A: His initial feelings are of all the memories he had going to the stadium with his family or watching me play. So he’s still hurt right now. Last night before I did an ESPN hit, he calls me and is like, “Don’t renew my tickets. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.” I’m like, “Dad, relax.” I tried to put things in perspective. This is life. These are the ups and downs of life. When I played for the Jaguars, he came to one of my games and wore a Raiders jacket. I said, “Dad, you’re coming to see your son play in Jacksonville and you’re wearing a Raiders jacket?” He’s like, “Yeah.” Underneath the jacket he was wearing a Jaguars jersey, and he told me, “Son, I’m always going to be your biggest fan, but if you cut me, I’m gonna bleed silver and black.”