Oakland Raiders: Derek Carr Addresses Vegas, Statement on True Fans

On Monday, Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr shared his candid thoughts on fan loyalty, the move to Las Vegas and found himself in hot water.

Oakland Raiders beat writers and reporters who cover quarterback Derek Carr on a regular basis know he’s an all-around good guy. He’s like a State Farm good neighbor when you need him. The man may have converted a San Francisco 49ers fan into the Silver and Black supporter via good deed, per San Jose Mercury News reporter Jon Becker.

Yet, the wholesome quarterback who prefers not to use curse words even during heated moments on the field felt the need to clarify his statement on the team’s move to Las Vegas.

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Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Michael Gehlken paraphrased the quote in question:

In full context, here’s Carr’s commentary, which focuses primarily on unity, per the team’s official website:

"This is just another thing we’re going to deal with together. We’re not going to split up like you’ve seen other cities do. We’re not going to do things like that. For the ones that do, I don’t believe they’re true Raider fans. I feel their hurt. I’m with you. I hurt too. But at the same time, we’re all in this together and just going to do it together."

When NFL owners voted 30-1 to push the relocation forward during the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix, Carr released a statement on social media that reflected his most recent commentary on Vegas:

Carr used the words love and together multiple times to express his gratitude to Raiders fans in Oakland, but he also embraced the team’s supporters in Vegas. He’s been speaking about unity from the very beginning, but he went to Twitter to clarify Monday’s misunderstood message:

Carr’s follow-up tweet doesn’t deviate from his original statement. He’s for all Raiders fans across the world. Supporters have the right to denounce allegiances to the franchise for whatever reasons. In those cases, Carr isn’t referring to them. Again, he’s speaking to all Raiders fans, not ex-fans or transitioning supporters to other fanbases.

Clearly, a true Silver and Black loyalist wouldn’t pledge allegiance to another team or root against the Raiders. Carr’s tweet is far from a clarification — it’s more like digging his heels into his original statement, which isn’t divisive — not when he’s using terms like we and together when discussing the relocation to Las Vegas.

In today’s social media world, it’s hard not to offend someone even with the most benign statement from a well-spoken individual like Carr, who gives cliché sound bites 90 percent of the time.

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The Raiders imminent divorce from his original location has driven a wedge within a proud fanbase, and it’s clear some fans still hurt and rightfully so. However, Carr isn’t the guy who deserves the angry tweets and hate mail. He’s the reason this team may deliver a Super Bowl title to Oakland before leaving for Las Vegas.