LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Raiders President Dan Ventrelle is no longer with the team, according to an announcement from owner Mark Davis on Twitter Friday morning.
Ventrelle said in a statement reported by the Associated Press that he was fired in retaliation for bringing concerns from multiple employees to the NFL about a “hostile work environment.”
“When Mark was confronted about these issues, he was dismissive and did not demonstrate the warranted level of concern,” Ventrelle said in the statement. “Given this, I informed the NFL of these issues and of Mark’s unacceptable response. Soon thereafter, I was fired in retaliation for raising these concerns. I firmly stand by my decision to elevate these issues to protect the organization and its female employees.”
“Dan Ventrelle is no longer with the Raiders organization. We will have no further comment at this time,” Davis said.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league officials “recently became aware of these allegations and take them very seriously. We will promptly look into the matter.”
Mark Davis was in Phoenix Friday night, attending the Las Vegas Aces’ WNBA season opener against the the Phoenix Mercury. Davis bought the Aces a year after the Raiders moved to Las Vegas.
Ventrelle was promoted to president in July of 2021 after Marc Badain resigned. Ventrelle had been with the Raiders for 18 years and had previously served as executive vice president and general counsel, negotiating player and coaching contracts. He was also involved in the team’s business partnerships and managed all compliance matters with the National Football League, according to profile information published by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority.
Another executive — Chief Operations and Analytics Officer Jeremy Aguero — resigned on Thursday.
According to a Sports Illustrated report in October, executives around the NFL had speculated that Davis might be looking for another president to lead the team after coach Jon Gruden’s resignation amid reports surrounding emails that contained homophobic and racist language. Davis brought in Josh McDaniels as the new head coach, and Dave Ziegler as general manager. Both had backgrounds with the New England Patriots, a highly regarded organization with a strong history of winning.
Another Sports Illustrated article in January speculated that former Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox might be under consideration for the role of president.
The Raiders finished the season at 10-7 last year, making the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in a game marred by a controversial call that allowed a play to proceed after a whistle blew. The Bengals scored on the play, and went on to play against the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.
