With all the financial troubles going on in the country, you might have not realized that the Raiders have gone from a poor organization to the most dysfunctional sports franchise since Nazi sympathizer Marge Schott was calling the shots for the Cincinnati Reds. You’ve got your coaches getting fired/not fired and your PR guys not being friendly with reporters and you’ve reeled off five consecutive losing seasons since your Super Bowl visit in 2002. With all the whirlwind going ons behind the scenes at the Oakland Raiders’ front office, you have to wonder why the team’s shareholders just don’t get rid of the head—Al Davis. He’s a year away from 80, he’s clearly lost his mind, and worse yet, he reminds everyone of Mr. Burns. Well, suckers, that’s why you do things when you’re younger and your mind actually works—when Davis took control of the Raiders in 1972, he made sure to create two levels of team ownership, one that just collects profits and another that votes on moves like firing people. And while there’s a lot of the former, there’s only one of the latter… yup, Al Davis. You… sly… dog…

Al Davis being deposed via a share holder revolt would be a fitting end to his tenure as the “President of the General Partner,” as it was through Machiavellian machinations he was able to ensure that he would have that title for life. Back in the early 70s, there were three general partners who had equal voting rights: Wayne Valley, Ed McGah, and Al Davis. Davis had been brought into the partnership by Valley after Davis’s stint as the commissioner of the AFL. By the early seventies, Valley had grown wary of Davis and had planned to have him replaced when the partnership agreement was to be redone in 1976.

Davis, knowing that he had fallen out of favor with Valley cozied up to McGah who to that point had not been active in running the team. Whilst Valley was out of the country attending the Olympics, Davis struck. He was able to convince McGah to agree to a changed partnership agreement, that insured that Davis could not be removed. It only took two out of the three partners’ votes to amend the deal. Valley was livid, and he sued Davis to have that change removed. Valley lost and ultimately sold his stake in the Raiders having been broken by Davis.

And this is why he will never willingly leave the post of Raiders owner or will be challenged to do so. Stupid us, and we thought it was some black magic that Al learned from some dude from Stockton in the Black Hole that kept him there.

Coup d’etat forming in Oakland Raiders ownership? [Examiner.com]
Image [AFP]