Draymond Green was asked by media today what he thought of the The Raiders leaving Oakland for Las Vegas. He was not kind to Mark Davis.
“Yeah that’s crazy. I feel bad for the city of Oakland. I dont even know how that’s going to work. Moving to Las Vegas, if I was the fans I wouldn’t attend the games for the next two years. But that’s just me.
“No way would I pay my money to watch them now. That’s like moving the Dallas Cowboys, that’s like moving the Packers … it’s one thing if you’re moving them from Oakland to Fremont or something. But to Las Vegas? I wouldn’t attend a game.”
All these replies to @MarcJSpearsESPN's tweet are taking @Money23Green's Raiders quote out of context: pic.twitter.com/jKFxXsyfxj
— Myles (@MylesInSF) March 29, 2017
Of course most people never saw this video, which presents Green’s comments in context. Most only saw this tweet below by ESPN’s Mark Spears, then jumped on Green for being a hypocrite. The Warriors, you see, are also scheduled to leave Oakland — to relocate into a new arena in San Francisco in 2019.
Warriors @Money23Green said he feels bad for the City of Oakland and Bay Area fans shouldn't attend @raiders games the next two seasons.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) March 29, 2017
No, dude. You didn’t hear what Green said.
He said that the Raiders are an iconic franchise. Imagine moving the Chicago Bears to St. Louis, or the Packers to Nebraska. Those would be on par with moving the Raiders to Las Vegas. The Golden State Warriors, on the other hand, are named that for a reason. They were never the Oakland Warriors — and in fact began in San Francisco, playing at the old Cow Palace (1960-71).
Oakland’s attempt to claim them solely was wrong-headed from the start. Much of the team’s fan base — among the most loyal in the NBA — comes from San Francisco and the Peninsula. I know, because I live here.
The Warriors are only moving nine miles across the Bay — by comparison, the 49ers moved their stadium 35 miles from Candlestick Point to Santa Clara.
Yes Oakland, you stuck with the Warriors through thick and thin — packing the arena even when the team sucked, which was most of the time. But just as loyal were Fremont, Union City, San Francisco, Vallejo, San Mateo, Marin, Atherton, Redwood City and Sunnyvale. You can’t compare the Raiders’ move with that of the Warriors. It’s false equivalency.
But the bigger point here is this: why should Raiders fans support a lame duck franchise? Did the Rams stick around in St. Louis once that move was announced? How about the Chargers in San Diego? Nope. The next two seasons in Oakland are going to be very awkward.