The Davis family has the Raiders leading the way once again, marking the first hire of an African American woman to take on the role of team president for an NFL club. Meet Sandra Douglass Morgan.
Earlier in the week, the Las Vegas Raiders and team owner, Mark Davis, wrote a new chapter in the NFL history books. This was done through the hire of new team president, Sandra Douglass Morgan, who effectively became the first Black woman to earn such a role.
Morgan is only the third woman, as well as the third member of the African American community in general, to serve the position of president for an NFL team.
“It is the honor of a lifetime to join the Raiders at one of the most defining times in the team’s history”, Morgan was quoted saying by the Raiders’ organization.
Morgan, a graduate of UNLV, shares strong ties with the city of Las Vegas. Not only was she Nevada’s first African American city attorney for North Las Vegas, but she also chaired the Nevada Gaming Control Board, becoming the first Black woman to do so. A new era has started in Las Vegas, and a new notion has been ushered into the NFL world.
While this is a first for the league, this is far from the first stone the Davis family has thrown into the waters of progression and equality.
Mark’s father, Al, was a pioneer in the progression space. Through the years, the list of innovative acts at Al’s command has piled to extreme heights, bringing in new ways of thinking that centered around equality and diversification.
The Davis family’s Raiders have been at the forefront of diversity since the start
Many fans around the NFL have heard the name Al Davis, but most aren’t too familiar with what the man who the Silver and Black light the torch for made happen. Al, the former commissioner of the no longer operating AFL, was the first NFL owner to hire an African American head coach – Art Shell, who would be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Davis is also responsible for hiring Amy Trask as the Raiders’ CEO, becoming the first woman in league history to hold such a position. Tom Flores, another eventual Hall of Fame coach (’21), became the second Latino head coach to grace the NFL through Mark’s father. While the list of hires alone is enough to cement the Davis’ way of thinking, it isn’t the only way Al operated differently.
Throughout his life, Al was a leader in civil rights movements. This translates to the Raiders, as Davis refused to play in cities that abided by any laws of segregation. In 1963, Davis demanded a preseason contest in Alabama be held at a different location, refusing to have the Raiders play in such a city.
If there’s anything Mark has inherited from his father, it’s his passion for civil rights and equality. Davis has always been vocal in supporting women, specifically through the lens of domestic violence.
"“We have zero tolerance. To make it more Raiders-like, let’s say double zero tolerance, like Jim Otto’s number”"
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Through Mark, the Davis family has once again set the standard for equal opportunity. Welcome to Raider Nation, Sandra Douglass Morgan.