Raiders Owner Al Davis was Much More Than Football

COMMENTARY | Shortly after the news was released of the death of the iconic Oakland Raiders owner, Al Davis, football fans around the nation talked about the great impact that Davis had on the NFL. Many of those fans, including those who loved to hate the man, still recognized that Al did more for the sport than any one person could ever claim to have done.

I was saddened to hear some hateful comments as well, including a few that stated they were glad he was dead. No matter how much you dislike the man for what he did or didn't do for the Raiders, a statement like that is incomprehensible to me, and it's obvious that these words are based in ignorance.

First of all, I don't understand how someone to actually hate a person they don't really know, and second, to wish a person dead because of how he managed a football team? If you think about it for even just a moment, that is pretty ridiculous.

There were many things that Davis did that I didn't agree with, but I certainly never wished him dead, or hated him for those things. I believe that football fans who carelessly use those words, really weren't familiar with Davis, or his life, at all.

Davis did what he believed was right. He fought tooth and nail, standing up for his values at all costs. He didn't care what anyone else thought of him. Davis did some incredible things for his Raiders, without any recognition whatsoever.

Howie Long, former Oakland Raiders' defensive end for his entire NFL career, told a story about something that Davis did for him. Long was raised by his grandmother, and he was at the end of his rope trying to get her into a hospital that could treat her cancer, but the renowned Boston hospital told him there was no way they'd be able to take her. He was even denied after telling the hospital that Davis would make a large donation.

Long called Davis in desperation, and just 20 minutes later, Davis told him that the hospital was ready and waiting for her.

Davis may he loved and lived football, but he wasn't only about football. He was a husband to Carol for 57 years, and a good father to son, Mark. In 1979, when his wife suffered a severe heart attack, Davis talked the hospital into giving him a bed in her room in intensive care, and he stayed at her side for two weeks.

Davis was a passionate man in all aspects of his life, and no matter what you think of what he did or didn't do for football, he should be admired as a man who stood for what he believed in, and did what he thought was right. There will likely never be another like Al Davis again, and he will be missed.