Former Raiders president Dan Ventrelle: My termination was over hostile work environment allegations against owner Mark Davis

On Friday, the Las Vegas Raiders announced in a tweet that president Dan Ventrelle, who has worked with the organization since 2003, was no longer with the organization. 

The short blurb about Ventrelle’s dismissal raised eyebrows around the NFL. Soon after the announcement, The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Mick Akers posted a response from Ventrelle, which says his termination from the Raiders was over serious allegations made against owner Mark Davis.

“I have committed almost 18 years of my life to the success of the Raiders as General Counsel and President,” Ventrelle wrote. “I take that responsibility very seriously, which is why multiple written complaints from employees that Mark created a hostile work environment and engaged in other potential misconduct caused me grave concern.” 

Ventrelle said he contacted the NFL after Davis brushed off the allegations and was soon fired in retaliation. 

“When Mark was confronted about these issues, he was dismissive and did not demonstrate the warranted level of concern,” Ventrelle continued. “Given this, I informed the NFL of these issues and of Mark’s unacceptable response. Soon thereafter, I was fired in retaliation for raising these concerns.”

Ventrelle says he’s retained legal counsel and won’t comment further on the situation. 

Joining the Raiders in 2003, Ventrelle worked his way up to becoming executive vice president and general counsel. In 2021, Ventrelle became interim president of the Raiders after Marc Badain resigned. After the 2021 season, Ventrelle was promoted to the full-time president before being fired on May 6.