ＮＦＬ、黒人女性初の球団社長就任　レイダースのモーガン氏

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】米ナショナル・フットボール・リーグ（ＮＦＬ）のラスベガス・レイダースは７日、サンドラ・ダグラス・モーガン氏を球団社長に招いた。ＮＦＬチームのトップに就任する初の黒人女性となる。（写真はサンドラ・ダグラス・モーガン氏）
　モーガン氏は２０２４年にラスベガスで開催される第５８回スーパーボウル実行委員会の副会長のほか、２０１９年から２０２１年まではネバダ州カジノ規制委員会の委員長を務めてきた人物。ノースラスベガス市の弁護士や、ＭＧＭリゾーツ・インターナショナルの法律顧問としても働いてきた。
　モーガン氏は就任に際し、「チームの歴史上最も重要とも言えるこの時期に、レイダースに加わることは生涯の栄誉」だと述べた。
　レイダースはこれまでもＮＦＬの歴史の壁を打ち破ってきた球団で、１９７９年にはリーグ初のヒスパニック系ヘッドコーチ（ＨＣ）としてトム・フローレス氏、１９８９年には現代では同じくリーグ初の黒人指揮官としてアート・シェル氏を抜てきした。
　レイダースは、マーク・バデイン氏が昨年７月に球団社長を辞任。それに伴い暫定職に就いていたダン・ベントレル氏は５月に解任されており、モーガン氏はこの１年で３人目の球団社長となる。
　最近では不適切な球団環境が問題になっているレイダース。オーナーのマーク・デービス氏はモーガン氏の加入を歓迎し、「彼女の経験と誠実さ、そしてこの地域への情熱は、組織にとってかけがえのないものになるだろう」と述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/07/08-13:40）

Sandra Douglass Morgan was hired as president of the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, becoming the first black woman to serve as president for any NFL team.
Morgan earlier served as vice chair of the Las Vegas Super Bowl host committee and was 2019-2021 chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. She has also worked as a Las Vegas city attorney and a lawyer for MGM International.
It is the honor of a lifetime to join the Raiders at one of the most defining times in the team's history, Morgan said in a statement announcing her hiring.
The Raiders, who moved from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020, have been barrier breakers before in NFL history. The club made Tom Flores the NFL's first Hispanic head coach in 1979 and made Art Shell the NFL's first modern-era black head coach in 1989.
This team's arrival in Las Vegas has created a new energy and opportunities we never dreamed possible, Morgan said. I look forward to taking this team's integrity, spirit and commitment to excellence on the field into every facet of this organization.
Morgan became the Raiders' third team president in less than a year after the May firing of interim president Dan Ventrelle, who took over last July when Marc Badain resigned.
Davis, whose club has faced complaints of improper workplace activities, welcomed Morgan to the organization.
I am thrilled that Sandra has agreed to join the Raiders family, Raiders owner Mark Davis said. Her experience, integrity and passion for this community will be invaluable to our organization.
From the moment I met Sandra, I knew she was a force to be reckoned with. We are extremely lucky to have her at the helm.
Morgan's arrival comes ninth months after Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned following an NFL investigation into racist, homophobic and misogynistic language in e-mails, the details of which became public.
Gruden was replaced by interim coach Rich Bisaccia, who guided the Raiders into the playoffs before the club hired Josh McDaniels as head coach last January.