Tom Hanks’ hometown soon will become an NFL castaway, and the actor is not pleased about it.
The Raiders made their move to Las Vegas official last month, with a plan to stay in Oakland until their new stadium is ready in 2020. Needless to say, many in Oakland aren’t happy about the move, and you can count Hanks among them.
In fact, the Bay Area native is so upset that he plans to boycott the Raiders completely after they skip town.
“When the Raiders leave, I am going on an NFL moratorium for two years,” Hanks said at a fundraiser earlier this week, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “You cannot take the Silver and Black, put them in an air-conditioned dome in the desert, make them play on artificial turf within a stone’s throw of the fountains of Caesar’s Palace, and call them the Raiders.”
Hanks didn’t stop his rant there, sullying the name of Mark Davis while blaming the Raiders owner for failing to fund a new stadium for the team in Oakland.
“Here’s the thing I don’t quite understand,” Hanks continued. “And I’m not trying to — this isn’t one of the (many) causes I’m fighting for. I’m just thinking as a fan: It’s a billion-dollar industry, they have billion-dollar TV contracts. All the owners are billionaires. And yet when they want to build a stadium they’re going to use for 10 weeks out of the year, they expect the city taxpayers to buy the building.”
Hanks isn’t the only local celebrity against the move, as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green urged fans not to attend Raiders games while the team still is in Oakland. But the actor’s harsh criticism might put him in a league of his own in defense of his hometown.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
