Former Raider Kennedy, sounds off on Warren Sapp
Kennedy, who played 11-seasons in the league, gave some insight on the current losing drought the Raiders are in and the arrival of Warren Sapp to the team in 2004. The three-time Pro Bowler said Sapp’s presence and boisterous nature hurt the team more than helped it during a vulnerable period for the organization.
“And here’s the reason,” Kennedy stated. “Every interview I heard Warren do, he never accepted the silver and black like other castaway veterans. He always played that Buccaneer card. And I was pissed off at that as a veteran player. If they wanted you, they would have kept your ass, you know what I’m saying? If someone else gave you another chance to finish your career strong, accept that.
“He immediate became a figurehead on the team, an icon. And all I ever heard him talk about was his days at Tampa. Go back in the archives and look at any other player who had an impact on the Raiders, and you don’t hear that, especially among the castaways.”
Kennedy also talked about moving away from the game and the direction Oakland took along the trenches after his retirement.
“I remember the year I retired, I told the Raiders I couldn’t do it anymore,” Kennedy comented. “I sat across the table from Mr. Davis and said, ‘Look, you got a player named Langston Walker. He’s making seven figures. I couldn’t say, ‘Let him play my spot, I’ll sit back and watch.’ The competitor in me wouldn’t allow that. But if you want to draft for the future, you need to know where to go. That’s why I told him as early as I could, because there was also this young lineman out of Iowa named Robert Gallery. We were trying to leave the team in good shape.
“What we found out later, those players weren’t capable of stepping in. They didn’t have the talent or whatever to pick up where we left off.”
Barber will have more about the Raiders in an article on Sunday and their streak of ineptitude since 2003.
