Life and Legacy of Al Davis: Lawsuits
As Raider Maven’s publisher Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. said recently, “Being a Raider is a standard set by the legendary Al Davis.”
In this series, we are looking back at Al Davis’s life and legacy. Today, we’ll look back at the infamous lawsuits he had with his players, colleagues, and the NFL.
Al and Lawsuits
Davis was a non-traditional guy when it came to how he operated. Whether he was a coach or a managing general partner, he didn’t care what other people thought about his ways. He just did his thing.
So, it shouldn’t be too big of a surprise that Davis wasn’t afraid of lawsuits.
In 1972, six years after he bought a 10 percent stake in the Raiders, Davis ran operations alongside fellow owners Wayne Valley and Ed McGah.
He decided he wanted more control of the Raiders.
Davis revised the partnership agreement between the trio, which made him the new managing general partner, giving him near-absolute control over the Raiders.
McGah signed on, but Valley was out of the country on vacation and didn’t. He instead sued to overturn the agreement but failed. Valley eventually sold his share of the team in 1976.
David didn't care one bit that Valley sued. Davis wanted control over the team operations, and he got what he wished for.
This was just the beginning.
In 1979, Davis wanted to move the Oakland Raiders to Los Angeles, as he was displeased with the Oakland Coliseum after Oakland, Alameda County and the Coliseum Commission back out of a deal negotiated with Davis. He signed a Memorandum of Agreement, which required three-fourths approval by league owners for the move to be approved.
The owners voted unanimously voted against him, while five owners abstained.
Of course, in classic Al Davis style, he tried to move the team anyway but was blocked by an injunction.
So, Davis joined the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and filed an antitrust lawsuit of his own.
Although the first trial ended in a mistrial, Davis won the subsequent trial in 1982 and cleared the path for the Raiders to move to L.A.
The Raiders would call Los Angeles home for the next 13 seasons before moving back to Oakland in 1995.
It wasn’t just his colleagues or the league either. He’d take heat from his players as well.
In 1991, running back and future Hall-of-Famer Marcus Allen sued the Raiders to become a free agent. The reason? Davis wouldn’t let him go because he thought Allen wasn’t fast enough.
As one former Raiders executive told the Los Angeles Times, “Al is upset because Marcus can’t run fast enough. Marcus will be in the Hall of Fame, and Al will say, ‘Yeah, but he could only run 4.7 [in the 40-yard dash].”
Eventually, Davis allowed Allen to leave the Raiders as a free agent and signed with the Chiefs. The following season, Allen was named the Comeback Player of the Year after setting career highs.
In other words, no matter who you are, Al Davis isn’t scared of lawsuits.
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