Raiders owner stands by gist of harsh A’s remarks, but sorry for coarse language

Chelsea Howard

Raiders owner stands by gist of harsh A’s remarks, but sorry for coarse language image

Raiders owner Mark Davis stands by the harsh comments he made directed toward the Oakland Athletics' front office, though he did apologize for the coarse language he used. 

"I am not sorry for the things I said," Davis said (via ESPN.com). "But I am sorry for the way I said them."

The Athletic published an article Thursday that touched on Davis' feelings for his RingCentral Coliseum co-tenants, saying he loves the A's when it comes to the players, but as for the front office: They've been "real pricks."

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When asked if he has been following the A’s stadium situation, Davis said: "They’ve been really f⁠—ing around with us up there, taking advantage of the situation. Which, it is their right to do it, but it makes it hard. Again though, we love the players, we love the A’s."

Davis' comments come as the Raiders are likely entering their final season in Oakland before moving to Las Vegas next year. The Raiders' lease with the Coliseum had expired at the end of the 2018 season, and they explored playing in other stadiums in 2019 until their stadium is ready.

The Raiders, however, opted to return to the Coliseum for 2019 on a $7.5 million lease, but the baseball team, which signed a 10-year lease extension in 2014, had already started renovations to better its fans' experience. The A's displaced 2,500 Raiders season-ticket holders, and obstructed the view for 250 seats when it comes to watching football, ESPN notes. 

There has also been some conflict between the Raiders and the city of Oakland, which filed a lawsuit against the team and the NFL in December after the league approved the team's move to Vegas.

When asked about the issues that have come up between the city and Alameda County while discussing the possibility of selling the land that the Coliseum sits on to the A's, Davis unloaded again: “They’re f–ing totally dysfunctional. It’s that f–ing bad over there.”

Davis did say he's looking forward to his franchise's move to Las Vegas, and he's trying to be careful not to alienate fans in Oakland.

“I’m excited about Las Vegas. I’m excited about our future. There’s no doubt about that,” he said. “But I’ve also been aware of Oakland and not wanting to rub it in their face or anything else. So we’re not able to celebrate everything, entirely, out of respect.”

Chelsea Howard