Former Raiders player roasts Oakland for losing team
By Josh Hill
Former NFL player Akbar Gbaja-Biamila isn’t a big fan of luck, nor is he a fan of how Oakland lost the Raiders.
From being a self-proclaimed nobody in the NFL to hosting one of the most popular primetime gameshows this decade, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila has had a fascinating journey.
He chalks none of it up to dumb luck.
“Luck is preparation meeting opportunity,” he told FanSided’s Mark Carman. “When that opportunity comes and you’re prepared, now all of a sudden people are calling it luck. But really, you were prepared.”
Gbaja-Biamila bounced between three teams during his NFL career, but his playing days are not what he’s going to be remembered for. He’s the host of American Ninja Warrior, a show that combines people’s faith in themselves and putting their belief in a goal to the test.
One of those teams he played for was the Oakland Raiders, a team he has strong feelings about as they prepare to move to Las Vegas.
Efforts by fans in Oakland have been made to keep the team, but it all proved frivolous. Gbaja-Biamila is blaming the city for not doing enough.
“The city of Oakland failed on capitalizing on keeping the Raiders. I hope people find it in their heart to forgive the city, but I don’t know how you let a team like that go.”
Not only is he anti-Oakland in this situation, but Gbaja-Biamila is in the growing minority of folks who are pro-Vegas.
“Las Vegas is a city that is literally putting out the red carpet for sports teams in general. If [Vegas] is going to give [the Raiders] the best opportunity to be a top tier franchise again, and bring excellence and greatness back, why not?”
It’s harsh for Raiders fans to hear, but for Gbaja-Biamila this is bigger than just a stadium. His anger lies in how Oakland let down its citizens by not getting a new stadium that would produce new jobs and greater opportunities, much in the same way the Falcons building a new stadium in Atlanta did.
“It’s a shame, it’s a travesty.”