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Raiders' past image playing a role in NFL's relocation decision
Could a bad reputation prevent the Oakland Raiders from moving to Los Angeles? Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Raiders' past image playing a role in NFL's relocation decision

There has been quite a bit of buildup in the Bay Area to these next two weeks — to the Oakland Raiders officially filing to relocate to Los Angeles and for a final decision on the matter to be made at the NFL league meetings in New York.

However, during the days since the Raiders — along with the San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams — reportedly filed, the situation appears just as murky and uncertain as it did at the start of the 2015 season. And it looks as if the team's image from its last stint in L.A. is playing a role.

Social media went into a tizzy when Bleacher Reports' Jason Cole reported Thursday that the NFL is leaning away from the idea of the Raiders returning to L.A. In a B/R video segment, he broke down what he called a "very, very fluid situation" in which "momentum seems to be shifting to a partnership of the Chargers and the Rams moving to Los Angeles."

Why? Cole called it "anti-Raiders sentiment" by NFL higher-ups in L.A. that has lingered for a couple decades.

It sounds a little odd at first. The Raiders still have a fan base down in the Los Angeles area, and there are parts of the Bay Area base camp that will follow the team no matter where it relocates to. Plus, having fans in L.A. scooping up tickets — drumroll, please — draws corporate sponsors. So where are these "anti-Raiders" vibes stemming from?

Cole went into greater detail Thursday afternoon talking to Ted Ramey on KNBR 1050 in the Bay Area:

"I know people hate when I say this. Raiders fans hate when I say this — and they should. But it's the whole '80s-'90s mentality of the Raiders in Los Angeles. Where there were tons of fights in the stands, and it felt unsafe for people to go to Raider games. And I know that has changed, certainly, in Oakland since they've returned over the last 20 years. They've made a really conscious effort to try and turn around that problem... But that image is still there for a lot of owners."

Mark Davis has, in fact, been "working for years" to change that image, Cole acknowledged. Part of that is with the idea of a move back to L.A. in mind, however. Former Raiders CEO Amy Trask said just the day before, on the same radio program no less, that the league has "made it clear that Los Angeles is where it wants to be" and that "they have invested heavily in a plan for a stadium" there.

Yet there's still this fear among the decision-makers that relocation back down south will drudge up this unsafe atmosphere. Curious still, after months of town meetings in Oakland to try to find ways to get the team to stay and then fans gearing up for a season full of road trips down Highway 5 to see the Raiders down in SoCal, a relocation to L.A. could become a faint dream with owners holding ill will toward the franchise.

Fine, a move  back to L.A. was never a definite thing. As Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group explained earlier in the week, filing for relocation "does not necessarily mean the Raiders will be approved to relocate." It was just another step by the Raiders' bigwigs to get into the mix with the Chargers and the Rams and plan a potential return to sunny Southern California. Plus, the NFL owners aren't voting on the matter until some time next week. 

Trash said in her interview: "What the NFL will end up doing next week, none of us know."

Looks like we still aren't going to know how much this anti-sentiment plays a part until a decision is finally made.

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