Amy Trask had an idea. So she went on CBS last Sunday and shared it.
With Dec. 24 — and potentially the Raiders’ final game in Oakland — drawing near, Trask, the Raiders’ CEO from 1997 to 2013, outlined a rocking great farewell bash for the team’s fans. The Raiders are bound for Las Vegas in 2020, with a possible one-season layover in parts unknown.
“They should get Oakland musical artists,” she said. “Hammer. Too Short. Adam Duritz from Counting Crows. Have a free concert for fans in the parking lot. I would spend a lot of money on this. I would make concessions free for the whole game (except for alcohol, she noted later). Pregame, while that concert is going on in the parking lot, I would allow the fans to mix and mingle with Raider legends from days gone by.
“And after the game I would allow the fans to come down on the field and mix and mingle with current players and current coaches. This needs to be a thank you and a salute and appreciation to the magnificent Raider Nation. This should be a festival for the fans.”
Social media practically hyperventilated, so much positive reaction did Trask’s idea generate. Even without a funding source; without owner Mark Davis’ blessing; without certainty over whether Dec. 24 will or will not be the Raiders’ swan song in its ancestral home; and without precedent — the next carpet-bagging NFL team to throw a party while heading out the door will be the first.
Yet Trask doggedly replied to dozens upon dozens of virtual messages, far more positive than not. It may have been one of Twitter’s finest hours.
And then she got: “Your hyperbole on this is irritating.”
And then she got: “Go away lady.”
And then she got: The bad hair brickbat.
The pie fight was on. Monday afternoon she posted on Twitter:
“There is video of me circulating and there have been comments that my hair looks horrible (and it does) — I share this to let kids know that if they are insecure about their appearance (as I was and still am), they should not let their insecurities stop them from pursuing dreams.”
There is video of me circulating and there have been comments that my hair looks horrible (and it does) – I share this to let kids know that if they are insecure about their appearance (as I was and still am), they should not let their insecurities stop them from pursuing dreams.
— Amy Trask (@AmyTrask) December 17, 2018
This would be the insidious nature of bullying, cyber- or otherwise, wouldn’t it? That trolls would feel comfortable attacking someone like Trask, educated, admired, successful, someone who smashed glass ceilings, who wrote a book sensationally titled “You Negotiate Like a Girl,” someone who should be proffered as a standard-bearer, not torn down for some sick puppy’s amusement.
Worst of all, that such attacks can ferret out an insecurity in the most secure among us.
As of Tuesday afternoon Trask was still replying to uplifting Tweets, along the lines of:
Beautifully stated Chris – and yup- and the reason I shared my insecurity was in hopes that it might help a kid who is growing up with his or her own insecurity – and hi.
— Amy Trask (@AmyTrask) December 18, 2018
She does have a human touch, but here’s hoping her volume of incoming tweets drops off soon. She’s got a festival to organize.
