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The Las Vegas Raiders have put together a mostly quiet offseason under new general manager Dave Ziegler. There were no questionable signings or head-scratching draft picks. And it appears the team has finally found a stable head coach-general manager duo after years of Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock.
However, the Raiders now find themselves in the middle of another possible controversy with the May 6 firing of team President Dan Ventrelle, who had held the position for less than a year.
In July 2021, the team made headlines when president Marc Badain abruptly resigned. Owner Mark Davis acknowledged three months later that it was a forced resignation due to “accounting irregularities,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Ventrelle replaced Badain as team president on an interim basis after working as the team’s executive vice president and general counsel. He played a key role in the construction of Allegiant Stadium. Davis announced on May 6 that Ventrelle and the Raiders had parted ways.
The news seemingly came out of nowhere, and the Raiders have yet to offer an explanation. For his part, Ventrelle isn’t going down without a fight.
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Ventrelle Makes Accusations Against Davis
On May 6, Ventrelle released a text-messaged statement, according to Vincent Bonsignore and Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that leveled accusations against Davis.
“I have committed almost 18 years of my life to the success of the Raiders as General Counsel and President. I take that responsibility very seriously, which is why multiple written complaints from employees that Mark [Davis] created a hostile work environment and engaged in other potential misconduct caused me grave concern,” Ventrelle said, according to the Review-Journal. “When Mark was confronted about these issues he was dismissive and did not demonstrate the warranted level of concern.
“Soon thereafter, I was fired in retaliation for raising these concerns. I firmly stand by my decision to elevate these issues to protect the organization and its female employees.”
Davis & NFL Respond to Statement
Ventrelle did not elaborate on the accusations, but he did appear to make the NFL aware of them.
“We recently became aware of these allegations and take them very seriously,” an NFL spokesperson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We will promptly look into the matter.”
For Davis, it’s another controversy to navigate. He indicated he would not get into a war of words with Ventrelle, telling Bonsignore and Akers that Ventrelle was never actually named president.
“I’ve heard about [Ventrelle’s] statement, but I won’t comment on it,” Davis said. “The only thing I want made clear is that Dan Ventrelle was never president of the Raiders. He has always been the interim president. He was never named president.The interim was always a temporary designation to determine whether he would be the [full-time] president or not. I want that clear — he is not the president of the Las Vegas Raiders. Never was. I think there’s a misconception about that.”
Just as it appeared the Raiders were making strides on the field, the business side of the organization showed it isn’t nearly as cohesive.
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Fired Raiders President Makes Accusations Against Owner Mark Davis