Raiders coach not thrilled players participated in charity hoops game

Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen questioned the decision-making of some players who participated in a recent charity basketball game, reports Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group.

The event, which happened last Thursday at California High in San Ramon, Calif., featured a number of players from both the Raiders and San Francisco 49ers. Proceeds from the game went to Bay Area charities, including foundations headed by some Oakland players.

Still, as the man trying to prepare his team for another big season, Allen wasn’t thrilled:

“It is the right intent, to raise money for charity,” Allen said. “I wasn’t in agreement with the way in which they went about doing it, because they’re paid to play football. Any time you put that at risk, you’re taking a significant risk.”

Among the players who participated were free safety Tyvon Branch, cornerback Taiwan Jones, wide receiver Denarius Moore, cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, linebacker Sio Moore, wide receiver Greg Little, running back Latavius Murray and wide receiver Brice Butler. Branch and Jones were among the players raising money for their personal charities.

Before the game, Oakland management reportedly informed players of its concerns regarding potential injury. This led to some players previously linked to the event, including running backs Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew, dropping out.

Luckily, the game went without any setbacks as the Raiders’ team won 71-63. Allen doesn’t really care about the score, though. He’s just happy nobody got hurt.

“These are grown men and they make decisions on what they want to do with their personal time, and that was a decision those guys took part in,” Allen said. “The thing I’m happy about is we were able to get out of it without any injuries.”