Black Women in Sports - Sandra Douglass Morgan Interview - video Dailymotion

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00:00Now, when many people think about Las Vegas,

00:02they probably envision that busy strip right behind me.

00:05But what they may not envision or know

00:07is the fact that Las Vegas has become

00:09one of the biggest sports towns in the world.

00:11How, you ask?

00:12Well, the Las Vegas Raiders,

00:14the NHL champs, Golden Knights,

00:16and, of course, the two-time WNBA champs,

00:18the Las Vegas Aces.

00:19Now, I had a chance to also speak

00:21to one of the history makers here

00:22for the Las Vegas Raiders, Sandra Douglas Morgan,

00:25who's the first black female president of an NFL team.

00:28We talked about her historic run and so much more.

00:31Take a look.

00:32First of all, thank you for this sit-down

00:34because the Super Bowl is literally days away

00:36and you took the time to sit here with me

00:38and talk all about all things yourself

00:40and also the big game that's coming up,

00:42so I really appreciate it.

00:43Well, thank you for having me.

00:43Look, it's an honor to be here with you

00:45and to even do anything to support Essence.

00:48That was, you know, obviously something,

00:49a publication that I read and leaned on

00:52throughout my whole life,

00:53so it's an honor to be here with you.

00:54So the Raiders are the first team in NFL history

00:57to have a black president, black GM, black head coach.

01:02For you, how does it feel?

01:04Because I would imagine that on one end,

01:05this is incredible,

01:06but on the other end,

01:07it says that there's so much work

01:08that still needs to be done.

01:10So with that duality in mind,

01:11how do you process being a part of black history

01:13in this way?

01:14You know, it's interesting.

01:14This is such a fast-paced world,

01:16and when I was appointed as president,

01:19I really underestimated the impact that it would have,

01:21and now that I've been able to meet more people

01:23in the sports industry,

01:23I'm realizing, yes,

01:24there needs to be greater visibility

01:26for women in football.

01:27And then you have our coach,

01:28Antonio Pierce,

01:29who we affectionately call AP.

01:31And, you know,

01:32he has such an incredible career as well,

01:34you know,

01:34winning a Super Bowl with the New York Giants,

01:36being a captain there,

01:37moving on in coaching

01:37in just different ranks,

01:38and now being our head coach.

01:40It's an incredible journey.

01:41And then we had our interim general manager,

01:43Champ Kelly,

01:44a man of deep faith,

01:46just really wants to make sure

01:47that everyone's cup is full around him

01:49and is so skilled

01:50and has an incredible career

01:52as an evaluator

01:53and as a leader as well.

01:55And when that moment happened,

01:56because, you know,

01:57they were both appointed interim

01:58about midseason,

02:00and the game day is so hectic,

02:02everyone's running out,

02:03and when the three of us

02:04actually stood on the field

02:05and took that photo,

02:06it was really a time for all of us,

02:07even though it was for a short period of time,

02:09less than a minute,

02:10to kind of pause

02:10and really be able to just soak in the moment.

02:13Yeah.

02:13And so obviously, you know,

02:14things change,

02:15and people move on,

02:16and the game has to be played,

02:17but I was really appreciative

02:18to have, you know,

02:19that time of the three of us together.

02:20Yeah, for sure.

02:21What's also interesting is,

02:23and I want to think about women

02:24who may be watching this,

02:26who may not be sports fans

02:27or enthusiasts at all,

02:28who are sitting here saying,

02:29okay, did you just say

02:30she's the president

02:31of the Las Vegas Raiders?

02:33And they may be asking themselves,

02:35how in the world did this happen?

02:37So I've been a lawyer for 20 years.

02:39That's my background.

02:40I have moved on

02:40and became a regulator.

02:42I was a city attorney.

02:42I've been in both the public

02:43and private sector.

02:44And before joining the Raiders,

02:46I was at a firm,

02:47but I also led,

02:48I was the chairwoman

02:49of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

02:50And that was an incredible experience

02:52and really had to push through

02:54the pandemic

02:54and that leadership experience.

02:56And so I always tell people,

02:57you never know

02:58who you're going to meet and when.

02:59And you never know,

03:01you know,

03:01you have to really focus

03:02on the skills

03:03that you're building

03:03throughout your career.

03:04So right now,

03:05as president of the Raiders,

03:06you know,

03:06I'm over making sure

03:08that our team is generating revenue

03:09and that we're growing our fan base.

03:11And so that includes everything

03:12from corporate sponsorships

03:13to sales

03:14to making sure

03:15the stadium is running

03:16at, you know,

03:17maximum capacity

03:17with concerts

03:18and other special events

03:19and private events.

03:21And then we have,

03:22you know,

03:22regular business functions

03:23such as finance,

03:24HR, IT,

03:26you know,

03:26that kind of just making sure

03:26that the building is running.

03:28Work closely, obviously,

03:29with our coach

03:30and general manager.

03:31They're responsible

03:32for football operations,

03:33but making sure

03:34we're doing everything we can

03:35to support them

03:36so we can have them

03:37a winning product on the field.

03:38When we think about black women

03:39in the sports spaces,

03:40not even as athletes necessarily,

03:42but like yourself,

03:43an executive,

03:43at the executive level,

03:44lawyers and things of that sort,

03:46what should they kind of

03:46brace themselves

03:47in terms of challenges

03:48to be able to face

03:50and then ultimately overcome?

03:51You know what I do find

03:54challenging

03:56that I would just kind of

03:57convey to others

03:58is that we really have to

03:59talk about each other

04:00and support each other.

04:01And I know that sounds

04:02very general,

04:03but for example,

04:04you know,

04:04we have to be able

04:06to work hard

04:07and put ourselves in positions

04:08that we're going to be

04:08on hiring panels,

04:09that we're going to be

04:10in positions

04:10where we can recommend

04:11each other

04:11and doing it in a way

04:13that is inclusive

04:14and know that

04:15it's not about just saying,

04:16oh, this is only one seat

04:17at the table

04:17and we have to fight for it.

04:18No, we're going to add

04:19additional chairs in, right?

04:20We talk about trailblazing.

04:21We're going to make this road wider

04:23so more people can join.

04:24I'm so proud

04:25of our leadership team.

04:26You know,

04:26half of our team

04:27is women at the Raiders

04:28and half of them

04:30are people of color

04:30and, you know,

04:32we have talked about

04:33the fact that,

04:34unfortunately,

04:35now when you talk

04:36about D&I

04:37can have a negative connotation

04:38and people assume,

04:39oh, they got that

04:40just because they are,

04:41insert whatever here,

04:42female, black,

04:43you know, LGBTQ,

04:45when in fact,

04:46it's the opposite.

04:47You know,

04:47in order to even get

04:48to this point,

04:48we usually had to work twice

04:49if not three times

04:50as hard to get there

04:51and have been vetted

04:52more times than anyone else

04:54in order to get that role

04:56because there's that concern

04:57about that fit.

04:58So I genuinely think

04:59supporting each other,

04:59speaking about each other

05:00with intention and positivity

05:03is something that I encourage

05:05everyone to do.

05:05Yeah, I'm really curious too.

05:07Are there footsteps

05:08that you saw

05:10walked before you

05:11that you desired to walk in

05:13or that,

05:14or someone who was

05:14a really great example for you

05:16in a template

05:16for how you move now

05:17and also,

05:18what would you like

05:19your footsteps to be

05:20for the next generation

05:21of women,

05:22black women,

05:23coming behind you

05:23in this space?

05:24There is a woman.

05:27Her name is Rose McKinney James.

05:29She is incredible.

05:31She's actually on

05:31the board of directors

05:32of MGM Resorts,

05:35ran for lieutenant governor

05:36in the state of Nevada

05:37in the 90s

05:38and I remember seeing her

05:39when I was an intern

05:39at the legislature

05:40and I remember seeing her,

05:42I was one of a handful

05:43of interns of color

05:44and I saw this woman

05:45with an incredible presence

05:46that was just navigating

05:47that building

05:48like anyone I've ever seen

05:49and I could see

05:50when she walked into her room

05:51that people knew

05:51that she was there.

05:53And so even though

05:54I didn't have a direct

05:55relationship with her

05:56those first 10 years,

05:57I just saw her

05:57and watched her

05:58and thought,

05:59okay,

05:59I don't know exactly

06:00what she does

06:01but I know that's

06:01what I want

06:02and later,

06:03we were able to connect

06:04when I became city attorney

06:06and she had been

06:06in the public sector

06:07and private sector as well

06:08and she said,

06:08you know,

06:09I see you

06:09and you're always listening

06:10and we were able

06:11to establish a relationship.

06:12Now,

06:13I was probably too fearful

06:14at the time

06:14to talk to her

06:15but now I consider her

06:16a dear friend.

06:18As far as my footsteps,

06:19you know,

06:20my career has definitely

06:22taken some twists and turns

06:24and I hope it just encourages

06:25people to go for it.

06:27You know,

06:27I grew up,

06:28my parents are incredible,

06:28working class,

06:29focused on getting an education,

06:31getting a job,

06:32buy a house

06:32and, you know,

06:33just be stable,

06:36which is incredible

06:37and if it wasn't

06:38for them instilling

06:38these kind of values

06:41in me,

06:41I wouldn't have been here

06:42but what I don't think

06:44we do sometimes

06:45even as a community

06:46is you're looking

06:46for safety and stability

06:48which is incredibly important

06:49but you have to know

06:50how to take risks

06:51every now and then.

06:52I love the people

06:54that have an entrepreneur spirit.

06:56If it was something

06:56that I wish I could have done

06:57younger,

06:58I would have,

06:58being able to kind of

06:59just have control

07:00of your own destiny

07:02and so I just encourage people

07:03to have as many options

07:04as possible

07:05so I hope my footsteps

07:06will encourage people

07:07to say,

07:07you know what,

07:08I want to try

07:08so many different things

07:09that if somebody

07:10wants to try

07:11to take something away

07:12from me,

07:12I have multiple other options

07:13and I'm in control

07:14of my own destiny.

07:15Well, I definitely

07:16think they'll see that

07:16and I want to ask you this,

07:18when did you first

07:19fall in love with sports?

07:20Where were you?

07:21What sport was it?

07:22What did it feel like?

07:24I was actually telling

07:24this story earlier

07:25about when I was like,

07:26okay, football,

07:27what is this?

07:28And it was around 86,

07:29I think,

07:30when the Ecke Shuffle came out.

07:31I don't know if anybody

07:32remembers this with that

07:33and then just the excitement

07:34around it

07:35and the game

07:35and my dad being excited

07:37and us kind of talking about it

07:38and me and my sister

07:38kind of practicing it

07:39on the linoleum

07:40in our kitchen.

07:41But, you know,

07:42the competitiveness,

07:43kind of competitive nature

07:44and just the dedication

07:45that athletes put

07:46into their craft every day

07:47is something

07:48that I've always been,

07:49you know,

07:49really attracted to.

07:50When I could see

07:51what Sundays looked like

07:53in those places

07:55where there were games

07:56and I didn't realize

07:57that until I was in my 20s

07:58when I was able

07:59to go to a game

07:59and I realized

08:00that was something

08:00that was missing

08:01here in Las Vegas.

08:02So now to be here

08:03and to have my children

08:04to be able to go to games

08:05and seeing these experiences

08:06and honestly,

08:07children all throughout

08:07Las Vegas' community,

08:09it's something that,

08:10you know,

08:11you never know

08:11what's lacking

08:12until sometimes

08:12you receive it

08:13and it's right

08:14in front of your face.

08:15So for the Raiders

08:15to move here

08:16to Las Vegas

08:17and to have

08:17Allegiant Stadium

08:18and to have it be available

08:19as a place

08:20where people can congregate

08:21and love and enjoy

08:22and celebrate the Raiders

08:23on Sunday

08:23is something that's

08:25great for our community.

08:26Well, I'll continue

08:27to pull for you

08:27and the Raiders.

08:28Thank you so much

08:29for the opportunity

08:30and just continued success

08:31to you.

08:32Job well done.

08:32I appreciate you.

08:33Go Raiders.

08:34Go Raiders.

Black Women in Sports - Sandra Douglass Morgan Interview

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