The man carrying on his father’s legacy as a maverick – and still sporting that recognizable haircut – is not pleased with a decision by the establishment.
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, whose father, Al, was an NFL owner who played the foil to the league’s commissioner’s office, strongly disagreed with the fines levied against his team for repeated violations of the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols.
The NFL assessed a $500,000 penalty on the team, took away a sixth-round pick in the 2021 draft and fined coach Jon Gruden $150,000.
“The fines are draconian,” Davis told ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez on Friday. “But we will appeal them. Outside the organization, people have the wrong impression about the Raiders. We take it seriously. It’s unfortunate that certain things outside the protocol are the things being focused on, rather than the positive steps we’ve taken as an organization. You’ve been in the building. You’ve seen it.”
Protocols include mandatory masks, daily COVID-19 tests and temperature checks.
“Jon and those guys are working their asses off every day. But at the same time, [the NFL] feels we’ve failed some of those mandates.”
The Raiders have amassed $1.185 million in fines for breaking COVID-19 protocols and are the first team to lose a draft pick over the violations.
So, is the league’s longtime outlaw franchise being unfairly punished?
Gruden offered only limited comments during his availability with the media Friday.
“I’m just going to say [I’m] very proud of our organization, how we’ve handled this entire protocol and this entire process, and I’m not going to comment any further than that,” he said. “We, as I said last week, I believe we’re on the cutting edge of being the best in servicing players, and I’ll leave it at that.”
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