Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

LA Times: Raiders fans going through different stages of grief after being jilted

Oakland Raiders Draft Welcome

L.E. Baskow

Former pro football player Akbar Gbaja-Biamila joins Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak and fans as the Oakland Raiders announce their third-day draft picks from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign on Saturday, April 29, 2017.

Five months ago, Dr. Death stared at the carpet in a Phoenix hotel room and sighed.

Instead of the familiar hard hat with foot-long spikes, black wig, bulky shoulder pads under a No. 26 Raiders jersey with “Dr. Death” written on the back, Ray Perez wore an untucked white dress shirt and dark slacks.

The superfan with the unmistakable alter ego wore the costume in lobbies of high-priced hotels when NFL owners met, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated last fall and became the silver and black-painted face of efforts to keep the Raiders in Oakland.

Perez adjusted his iPad to start a live video stream, took a deep breath, shook his head, wiped away tears. Earlier that day, NFL owners approved the Raiders moving to Las Vegas to play in a $1.9-billion domed stadium near the Strip. He never believed it would actually happen.

Here's the complete story from the Los Angeles Times.

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