John Herrera points finger in face of Tim Kawakami in 2008
Both Al LoCasale and Bruce Allen have been legendary figures in the National Football League because they command respect by treating everyone with the dignity and honor they deserve.
In Al LoCasale's case, this blogger learned NFL politics from him. In 1996, when I served as Economic Advisor to the Elihu Harris, when he was the Mayor of Oakland, Al LoCasale contacted me and we met for lunch almost weekly at his favorite restaurant, Linguini's in Alameda in Park (great Lasangna).
Why? Because LoCasale wanted me to work behind the scenes to help reestablish the 49ers / Raiders Preseason Game. At the time the Oakland Raiders were involved in a lawsuit with the NFL so LoCasale believed it would be hard to get the league to agree to a game that would be of benefit to them at the time.
I agreed to help him. After weeks of conversation and preparation with LoCasale, the first call I made under LoCasale's direction was to then-NFL Executive Vice President Roger Goodell. That was a great first start because as it happened, I read about his father the late Republican Senator Charles E. Goodell several years ago, but didn't know Roger Goodell was his son!
After much conversation about politics, Goodell said the best way to reestablish the preseason game was to approach the San Francisco 49ers. My next endeavor centered on gaining a meeting with San Francisco 49ers Owner Eddie DeBartolo. "Mr. D" as he's called, came with his then-assistant Ed Muranski to Oakland for a meeting with Mayor Harris and myself.
We talked about the NFL, the Oakland Raiders, and the redevelopment of Jack London Square, because the then-new DeBartolo Entertainment Company was looking for venues to build themed sports bars. Jack London Square was a perfect candidate, especially since Mac's Sports Bar had just closed its doors.
But with those meetings, including an incredible trip to 49ers Headquarters in 1997 that featured a tour and a brief talk with a man who's become now a friend: then 49ers Head Coach Steve Marriuci, who's now with the NFL Network and I last saw at the 2008 NFL Draft and at a Cal game later that year:
All of that was set in motion by AlLoCasale both directly and indirectly.
While I never got to know Raiders Executive Assistant Bruce Allen as well as I did Al LoCasale, Bruce was always gracious to me, even during the time I was trying to bring the Super Bowl to Oakland, and the Raiders were involved in a nasty lawsuit against the City of Oakland. And when I saw him at Leigh Steinberg's Super Bowl Party in Houston in 2004, and when he was General Manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Jon Gruden was the head coach, Bruce introduced me in a way that made my hair stand, and I don't have any.
Bruce said to Jon: Jon, this guy was with the City of Oakland; he could be a good general manager.
I had no idea he felt that way, and while I never followed up on what he said, it was just nice to hear.
Morris Bradshaw has always been a friend. We've talked about a lot of aspects of life, way beyond football. Morris knows what I mean here; I don't need to write any more. Morris Bradshaw is a good man.
The point in all of this, is Oakland Raiders Senior Executives have a tradition of understanding how to work with people and giving them the respect they deserve. Unfortunately, that history is threatened by the behavior, as I have seen it, of John Herrera.
What spurred me to finally write this was his quip against Rich Gannon in the San Jose Mercury News where the Merc's Steve Corkran wrote:
Raiders senior executive John Herrera said Wednesday that neither Davis, Russell, coach Tom Cable nor the Raiders needs any help from Gannon and that "maybe it's Rich that needs the help."
That was not right to say. Flip? Yes. Angry? Of course. Necessary? No. Rich Gannon just extended a hand of help to a team he played for who needs it because he cares and sees a major diamond-in-the-rough in Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell. For Herrera to think of making that statement, of all things he could have said, was the product of an awful train of thought.
But if that's terrible, it pales compared to how John Herrera treated Mercury News Columnist Tim Kawakami in 2008. As the video below shows, John Herrera essentially tried to bully Tim Kawakami because he didn't like something Tim Kawakami wrote.
Here's the video:
Herrera could have addressed the issue in a classy, dignified way. But what he did was disappointing to see. Tim should have never been exposed to that kind of treatment by any Oakland Raiders official.
John Herrera has a long tradition of Oakland Raiders Senior Executives to follow. Right now, Herrera's not, in my view, doing a good job. No one "hates the Oakland Raiders" here. This is a matter of a call for John Herrera to act with the dignity, kindness, and respect that past and current Oakland Raiders executives have set a standard for, from Morris Bradshaw to Al LoCasale, and Bruce Allen.
Let's hope for a better performance in the future.
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