The Oakland Raiders went 4-12 last season and after a very active free agency and offseason period, head coach Dennis Allen and general manager Reggie McKenzie are ready to see what the team has when they hit training camp later this month.
According to Pro Football Talk, some former scouts in the organization were none too happy after they lost their jobs after the 2012 draft, as Jon Kingdon and Bruce Kebric sued for age discrimination. The report says that they filed in Alameda County Superior Court after being relieved of their jobs after the draft and Kingdon had previously spent 33 years with the team.
When he was fired, Kingdon was college scouting director and the report says that the law protects employees over the age of 40 from adverse employment action, although the Raiders said the claim was "meritless". The Raiders have said that they have always been an equal opportunity employer and that the case has no basis.
The Raiders also had some personnel issues when Mark Davis fired PR director Zak Gilbert over a bad story in Sports Illustrated. He has since been hired by the Cleveland Browns. The team is looking to improve big time after going 4-12 last season and brought in a host of new players, including Charles Woodson, Tracy Porter, DJ Hayden, Kevin Burnett, Nick Roach as well as some exciting rookies on offense. The team also traded for quarterback Matt Flynn.
"The Oakland Raiders have a long history of being an equal opportunity employer, without regard to race, gender, or age," the Raiders said in a statement issued to PFT. "These claims of age discrimination are meritless."
