And, right there on stage, Davis disclosed his own dark, vindictive soul. He revealed himself as an owner willing to torpedo his team's season to build a case against Lane Kiffin so he wouldn't have to pay Kiffin. Davis' news conferences are always high drama, but what happened Tuesday at the Raiders facility was off the charts. It was Theater of the Absurd, in two acts, with -- I'm not kidding -- a 10-minute intermission.
OK, y'all...so is there anything that comes to mind that's more pathetic than the sorry excuse for a press conference given by Al Davis when he announced he was firing Raiders Coach Lane Kiffin "for cause"? (OK, anything uttered by Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © is ipso facto absurd, so he no longer really even counts. Then man hasn't been relevant for...well, years, maybe.) If you really want to subject yourself to the video, you can see Davis' poorly-acted kabuki here and here. Davis really should be embarrassed, but then he's been heavily invested in self-parody for years.
Not being a Raiders fan, I could really care less about anything the organization does, but when even the fired coach says that he "was kind of embarrassed for (Davis) to be honest with you", you have to know that Al Davis has turned into a sad and very pathetic caricature of a competent and professional owner. Under the best of circumstances, Al Davis has always been a bit, uh...eccentric, but this two-act dog-and-pony show was truly embarrassing to watch. I realize that Davis owns the Raiders, but isn't it about time that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did something to prevent Davis from turning this once-proud team into even more of a joke than it already is?
Raiders fans are not normally the type to inspire pity, but even I have to think these maroons deserve better than Al Davis. Then again, perhaps they have exactly what they deserve.
