SILVER & BLACK CHASE GREEN

(April 12, 2001)-- NFL trial attorney Allen Ruby confronted Al Davis Thursday with the key issue of the Raiders’ current lawsuit against the NFL in Los Angeles.

"You moved to Oakland for the money, didn’t you, Mr. Davis?" Ruby asked.

"No," said Davis, "that’s what you’re gonna try to prove and you know that’s not true."

Evidence later in the day however clearly showed that the Oakland offer in 1995 was worth many millions of dollars more over the length of the lease than the Hollywood Park deal.

The Oakland offer included $64 million of "upfront" money to Davis, his Raiders’ partners and the team. "I don’t like that term," said Davis. "It was a non-recourse loan."

In his opening statement to the jury, Ruby explained that a "non-recourse loan" is "one of those really good loans that you don’t have to pay back." Davis acknowledged that six years later the Raiders still had not repaid any of the loan.

Thursday’s court session completed the fifth week of testimony in the case in State Superior Court. The cross-examination of Davis will continue on Monday.

In addition to charging that the NFL "destroyed" his Hollywood Park deal and forced his team back to Oakland, Davis claims that the Raiders "own" the NFL rights to Los Angeles which they abandoned in 1995.

"Did you ever write a check when you got the Los Angeles market?" Ruby asked.

"My observation," Davis replied, "was we paid something to someone. My observation was somehow there was a payment to someone."

Ruby continued, "When exactly did the Raiders acquire the Los Angeles rights?"

Davis said: "I can’t tell you when, but we have them."

The jury was shown the Raiders’ audited financial statements that do not reflect any payments to the League for the Los Angeles market. They also do not include the Los Angeles franchise opportunity—allegedly worth over $700 million—as an asset of the Raiders’ partnership.

Davis announced on June 23, 1995 that he was returning to Oakland. Ruby showed him a Raiders press release from that day which praised the NFL for its "long and hard" work with the Raiders in Los Angeles.

Davis was asked if he had approved the team’s press release and if it was accurate. "No, I didn’t see it. It is a good puff piece, but it is not true," Davis replied.

Davis also was questioned about documents sent to him by Commissioner Tagliabue in draft form about the Raiders’ return to Oakland. He edited the documents stating "In the Raiders view…" and returned them to the Commissioner. However, Davis insisted to the jury today that the views expressed were the Commissioner’s, not Davis’, even though the final versions reflected each of Davis’ edits.