Antonio Pierce: “I fully realize how fortunate I am to have this opportunity. This isn’t something too many people would’ve predicted. I’m an African-American. I came from an urban environment. I was undrafted. Too small. Too short and everything else. Then I was told I was gonna s**t the bed as an interim head coach. I was told the odds were against me to get the job. I was told I couldn’t be a leader of men.
But now, you know what? Here we are.
And, believe me, it’s only going to get bigger and better from here. At the end of the day, I want to be on that Mount Rushmore of coaches who’ve done it with the Raiders and led this organization to the promised land. I want to be holding that Lombardi Trophy with one hand and a cigar in the other.
And you know what? Now that I think about it, that reminds me, to all the people out there who want to look down on us, or take shots at us, because we light up our cigars after wins, or listen to our music too loud, or play hoops in the locker room, or whatever else it is people want to ding us for … let me just say this once and for all: We are the Raiders, damnit. We don’t need to be liked.
But we will be respected.”
#OTD in 1947, Jackie Robinson played his first game for the Brooklyn @Dodgers, breaking the @MLB's color barrier.
Robinson helped pave the way for generations of Black athletes to compete at the sport’s highest levels.
#BlackHistory | #BlackExcellence
Angellica Grayson was hired by the @chargers as the team’s first ever manager of football development.
Grayson’s role allows her to share her passion for football with other women and build the foundation for women’s leagues across California: https://t.co/T4iHwTOU7F
Yesterday I met with high school students on Chicago’s Southwest side who spent the summer learning to code some pretty cool apps. Michelle and I are proud to support programs that invest in local youth and we’re proud of these young people.