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Raiders refuse to paint gold logo, lines on field for NFL 50th celebration
As you've no doubt noticed if you've watched any NFL games this season, the NFL is going all-out with its golden anniversary initiative, starting with the gold markings and logos on the fields. Well, 30 of the 31 fields. The Oakland Raiders, it seems, aren't playing ball ... and for once, that's not a literal statement of their performance.
The Raiders have declined to paint the gold logo on the field at O.Co Coliseum for home games.
"The Raiders have asked us not to do that," Chris Wright, Coliseum general manager, told Sporting News. Wright is also a vice president at AEG Facilities, which runs the stadium for both the Raiders and baseball's Oakland A's.
The NFL pointed to the A's, who are technically still playing out the 2015 season, as the reason for why the logo hadn't yet been painted. As you can see below, the Raiders are still playing with the dirt infield, thanks to the A's, and haven't painted the 50-yard line marker gold:
While everyone else has:
Unfortunately, the NFL's contention about the A's doesn't match with what the Raiders have apparently ordered. "It has nothing to do with baseball," Wright countered. "The last six home baseball games are through this weekend, and there will be no gold marks for the rest of the Raiders' regular season."
The Raiders aren't discussing their reasons behind the lack of ceremonial markings. Pro Football Talk speculates that the team could be bitter about Santa Clara hosting a Super Bowl. It's also possible that the Raiders could be angry at the NFL for any of a dozen reasons, or could just be channeling the spirit of Al Davis and playing maverick for its own sake.
The NFL will probably let this slide, but oh, if it had happened in New England...
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.
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