It’s been more than 12 years since the Raiders and Amy Trask parted ways, ending her tenure as the first (and only) woman Chief Executive Officer of the sport.
In the meantime, Trask has worn many hats. She’s worked in the media for CBS Women’s Sports and the CBS Sports Network. An author (“You Negotiate Like a Girl – Reflections on a Career in the National Football League, Triumph Books, 2016). She participated in a “Women in Sports Summit” in Las Vegas in July sponsored by “She’s Got Time” and founded by Hall of Fame basketball player Swin Cash that seeks to create “an intergenerational community for women’s sports.” She served as the Chariman of the Board for Ice Cube’s “Big3,” a 3-on-3 half-court basketball league.
Trask was once called the “Princess of Darkness” in a Michael Silver Sports Illustrated profile in the early 2000s by an anonymous source. It wasn’t intended as a compliment. But Trask embraced it. Sandra Douglass Morgan is currently the team president of the Las Vegas Raiders and Kristi Coleman of Carolina are team presidents, but only Trask has been a CEO.
Oakland Raiders Chief Executive Officer, Amy Trask and owner, Al Davis watch a mini training camp season from the sidelines on July 30, 2002 in Oakland, Calif. (Nick Lammers/Staff Archives)
Since her departure from the Raiders, the franchise got a new stadium in Las Vegas, where it has increased the value of the franchise but hasn’t paid off with a winning season.
A look at how Trask sees the landscape for the NFL, opportunities for women, her relationship with the Raiders (she doesn’t have one) and her recollections about her career working with Al Davis after joining the team out of USC law school in 1982 as an intern, working through the legal department and as CEO from 1997 through 2013:
Q: After you left the Raiders, did you ever consider a return to the NFL whether it be with another team or a position with the league itself?
Trask: I did not. I was approached several times and it was not of interest to me. I was a Raider. I had a lot of colleagues throughout the league for decades who would move from one team to another. I don’t have any issue whatsoever with others who chose to do that, that was their choice. But that wasn’t for me. I didn’t view being a Raider as fungible. It wasn’t, ‘Oh, I’m part of the NFL, maybe I’ll go work for another team.’ It was, “I was a Raider.’
Q: The NFL appears to be as successful as ever. What in your eyes is the league doing to right to maintain and build on its success?
Trask: Recognizing the importance of the game. Yes, the NFL is a very big and tremendously successful business. But it’s the game that’s the underlying basis of that business. And the game has evolved, rules have evolved for any number of reasons including safety. The league continues to recognize the strength of the league is the game and the strength of the game are the players. I worked for a man for almost 30 years who told me when I joined the organization, ‘Kid, the players are the game.’ The game is what makes the league what it is and the players are the game.
Q: Do you expect to see NFL expansion into Europe or Latin America?
Trask: I think we will continue to see additional games around the world. This year the Vikings are staying overseas and playing back-to-back games, one in Ireland, one in England. I think we’ll start seeing more of that so teams can play multiple games without the travel. Will we see teams based overseas? That’s a tough challenge, and if ever that was to happen it would have to be multiple teams so they can play games between and among themselves, not simply requiring travel across continents. But I do think you’re going to continue to see international growth.
Q: Is the sport safe enough for children and teenagers in youth tackle leagues and high school?
Trask: I will differentiate children from teenagers. I don’t see any reason why children from elementary or junior high school need to be playing contact football or contact any sport. And the league is embracing with a passion flag football – that’s flag football for boys and flag football for girls. It’s a different analysis when you get to high school and college. The league has taken steps to make the game a lot safer. There are still concerns, but I would say that about a lot of sports. Basketball, soccer, there are dangers associated with lacrosse. I can tell you first hand of the dangers of being a competitive equestrian which is also deemed a sport, and I had my concussions from that. For children, flag is a wonderful option for boys and girls and the league is ardent about its support about growing and expanding flag. High school? I think there are dangers associated with a lot of sports and each family has to make its own analysis.
Raider CEO Amy Trask (left) and Mark Davis, son of owner Al Davis, watch practice during training camp in Napa, Calif., on Thursday, July 24, 2008. (Dean Coppola/Contra Costa Times)
Q: Your old boss Al Davis believed the sport would go to a pay-per-view system. Instead, the networks paid top dollar. Now that other networks such as Amazon are in the mix, is pay-per-view on some level still a possibility?
Trask: It’s really hard for me to fathom that. Look, the league has a limited anti-trust exemption which requires free viewing of certain games in certain markets. All of that needs to be factored in as well. The landscape is changing, it’s going to continue to change. If we were having this conversation 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have envisioned some of the changes that exist now.
Q: While you’ve never been one to talk much about gender unless asked about it, has the league made enough strides regarding women, particularly as it pertains to coaching?
Trask: The league has absolutely made strides when you look at the perspective and prism of when I joined the league. I walked into that first league owner’s meeting and I was the only woman in the room. Every time a woman is hired, whether it’s on the field or off the field, I’m asked, ‘Are you excited?’ And my answer is sure, but what’s going to be real exciting is when such things are no longer newsworthy. When people are hired without regard to race or gender or any other individuality. One of the things that excited me was Sarah Thomas officiating a Super Bowl (in 2021). I was asked umpteen times if I thought they put Sarah in the Super Bowl just to put a woman on the field. I laughed at that. The last thing the league wants is an officiating controversy at the Super Bowl. All they care about is the best officials are on the field.
Q: What has been your impression on the current landscape of women’s sports, and in particularly the immediate success locally of the Golden State Valkyries?
Trask: My view is people love good sports, good games, good teams, good players and we’re seeing that reverberate throughout the WNBA and other sports. Al (Davis) was ahead of his time. He was a huge fan of women’s college basketball. I remember going into Al’s office many times to talk with him or have him sign a document and I got the `Shh, wait a minute.’ And I sat there with him while he watched a women’s college basketball game. Are we seeing the excitement and enthusiasm increase? Absolutely. But there have been people who have been fans of women’s sports for a long time.
Amy Trask, Chief Executive of the Oakland Raiders, watches the team and talks with fans and company officials at their summer training camp in Napa, Calif., Thursday, July 31, 2003. The Raiders’ chief executive and the most influential woman in the NFL, has been a football junkie since junior high. (AP Photo/Dino Vournas)
Q: How would you describe your relationship with the Raiders and have you been to a game at Allegiant Stadium?
Trask: I have been to Allegiant Stadium. I have taken a tour, and it just a tremendous, tremendous building. I have not been to a game at Allegiant Stadium.
Q: Have you ever attended any functions put on by the Raiders?
Trask: I have never been invited to any Raider functions since I left the organization. I haven’t been included.
Q: You were very protective of the reputation of East Bay Raider fans during the Raiders’ second phase in Oakland. Do you maintain some of those connections either through social media or other means?
Trask: I remain in contact with Raiders fans and I love that they include me when they share things on social media. Many reach out directly with a text or an email or a phone call. One of the most precious memories for me in my years with the league are the fans and my interaction with the fans, and I continue to interact with them and will forever.
Q: When you were at Cal and in law school at USC did you ever envision a career in professional sports or did your hiring by the Raiders take you in that direction?
Trask: I did not envision a career in professional sports. I did not envision a career in anything. I had no vision for what my career would be. I went to Cal, went to law school, and there were reasons why I did that, none of which were that I planned to practice law. It was not my intent to practice law and I would certainly never, ever be a litigator. I went to law school for the additional education and because back in that time, there weren’t a lot of women going into business so I thought the legal education would not only give me a good education for business but maybe a little extra gravitas to have that law degree. I had no idea what I was going to do when I got to law school. No idea.
Q: What do you think is the biggest misconception about Al Davis?
Trask: That’s an easy one. The biggest misconception about Al is he wouldn’t tolerate disagreement. If that were the case I would have been fired roughly two weeks into my job. He walked into a room, I was sitting with a co-worker and he ripped into that guy like you could imagine a velociraptor ripping into flesh. And after he went for a bit of time, I said, ‘Excuse me, you’re wrong,’ and that he was basing his conclusion on inaccurate data. We went on to have a very healthy and very loud dialogue. After it was over he said, ‘OK, I got it.’ And we had a terrific conversation. We both had loud voices, and people gathered in the hallway. I later learned they came out to listen to this argument that Al was having with this woman who’d been there two weeks. One even brought boxes, saying, `She’s gone.’ I think that set up the basis for a working relationship. He never discouraged you from expressing disagreeing points.
Big3 Chairman of the Board Amy Trask was honored at the Women of Big3 Power Lunch presented by Toyota on Friday, July 12, 2019 in New York. (Donald Traill/AP Images for Toyota Motor North America)
Q: You have always tried to maintain a polite and civil discourse on social media, whether it was Twitter or X even to the point of saying, ‘Hi’ to just about everyone. Is that a challenge in a medium that includes a lot of potshots and insults?
Trask: I don’t find it to be a challenge. I’m extraordinarily passionate about civil discourse and exchanging thoughts in a reasonable manner. When I see anyone fire back at me in what I consider in a rude or nasty manner, I’ll reply, ‘Fair enough, you disagree with me, but you can disagree with me without being mean or nasty.’ And I’ve gotten a lot of replies that say, ‘You know what, you’re right. I do disagree but I did not mean to be nasty or rude.’ My theory is if I can change one person’s mind here and there, and encourage civil discourse, I feel really good about that.
Q: You’ve never blocked anybody?
Trask: I’ve never, ever, ever blocked anyone. How can we espouse that we should be able to exchange thoughts and then block someone?
Q: You’ve been a supporter of animal rescue on social media. This is only a half-serious question. Do you like animals better than people?
Trask: I plead the fifth. I have been known to say we should put dogs in charge of the world. There are definitely some animals that are better than some people. But I like people too.
Q: What do you see yourself doing by 2035?
Trask: I have no idea whatsoever. I have no plan. And I’ve never had a plan. My plan is to never have a plan. I told (my husband) Rob when I was navigating my decision whether to stay with or leave the Raiders, I’m not going to even be able to think about what I do next until I make this decision. When I gave notice and then woke up the next morning, I thought, ‘I’m a blight on humanity. I have nothing to do.’ Because I have no plan. But it worked out OK.”
