Some in the media wanted to paint Al Davis as a paranoid nut but he was willing to take a stand for what really mattered.
"Davis was active in
civil rights, refusing to allow the Raiders to play in any city where black and white players had to stay in separate hotels. He was the first NFL owner to hire an
African American head coach and a female chief executive. He was also the second NFL owner to hire a
Latino head coach. He remains the only executive in NFL history to be an assistant coach, head coach, general manager, commissioner and owner.
Davis breached several civil rights and diversity barriers during his career with the Raiders.
In 1963, the Raiders were scheduled to play a preseason game in Mobile, Alabama. In protest of Alabama's segregation laws, Davis refused to allow the game to be played there and demanded the game be moved to Oakland. He also refused to allow the players to travel to other cities to play games where the black and white players would have to stay in separate hotels.
Davis was the first NFL owner to hire an African American head coach,
Art Shell, and a female chief executive,
Amy Trask. He also hired
Tom Flores, the second Latino head coach in the league"
Al Davis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia