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February 28,
2019
The Samford Crimson
Birmingham
Iron is
making an
impact on the
community
Sports, 3
Could the NFL play in
Birmingham this year?
The Oakland Raiders could play part of the 2019-2020 season in Birmingham | Photo courtesy of Creative Cbmmons
By Gunnar Sadowey
Staff Writer
Birmingham City Council President
William Parker has reached out to the
NFL's Oakland Raideis about the pos¬
sibility of the franchise playing during
the 20 19 season at Legion Field in Bir¬
mingham.
According to the Birmingham City
Council, the city would partner with
Tucson, Arizona in an effort to host the
Raiders for the 2019 season as their
new stadium in Las Vegas undergoes
construction.
The Raiders are involved in a legal
dispute with the dty of Oakland as a
result of the relocation process and
do not have a current home as their
lease with the Oakland Coliseum has
expired.
As talks with other stadiums in the
Bay Area that could host the 20 19 sea¬
son have failed, Raiders officials have
delayed plans of announcing their new
home, which they originally publicized
would be completed by the end of J an-
uary.
The San Francisco 49ers, located
just over 16 miles away from the Oak¬
land Coliseum, have also refused to
waive their rights to allow the Raiders
to play at Oracle Park in 2019, forcing
the franchise to look beyond the state
of California for anew home.
Birmingham and Tucson were two
cities that quickly offered the Raiders
a spot to play their upcoming NFL sea¬
son.
In a new/s release issued directly to
the Arizona Daily Star, if successful,
the two cities plan to split the hosting
duties throughout the entire 20 19 sea¬
son.
Both cities and stadiums have foot¬
ball histories that date back to the first
half of the 19th century.
Legion Freld’s history can be traced
back to its first game, featuring How¬
ard College (now Samford University)
and Birmingham- Southern College in
1927.
On the other hand, Arizona Stadium
has remained the home of the Arizona
Wildcats football team since 1929.
a
We're a football town
with grit. I can't think
of a better place for the
Raiders to land this year"
However, when compared to Ari¬
zona Stadium, Birmingham's Legion
Freld has a larger capacity by 14,100
seats.
In the modem time period, UAB’s
football team, along with the Alliance
of American Football's Birmingham
Iron now call Legion Freld home.
As a result of the situation, Council¬
or Parker believes that Birmingham is
the perfect fit for the Raiders.
In a news release issued by the Bir¬
mingham City Council, Parker became
excited discussing the possibility of
having a football team to cheer for on
Sundays in Birmingham.
'We’re a football town with grit.
I can't think of a better place for the
Raiders to land this year, " Parker said.
'We want to make this happen."
Additionally, Parker praised football
enthusiasts and offered a challenge
to the loyal fans of Alabama’s NCAA
teams.
'If a college team in Alabama can
sell out every game, can you imagine
how excited they would be to have a
team to cheer for on Sundays?" Park¬
er said. "Birmingham is ready to be a
part of Raider Nation. "
Birmingham's City Council and
football fans can remain hopeful that
the chance of the NFL returning to the
dty is no longer an aspiration but a
genuine reality.
SGA passes
diversity
committee
resoultion
By William Marlow
News Editor
Samford University’s student sen¬
ate passed a bill on Tuesday, Feb. 26,
20 19 that created a new committee, the
Diversity Committee and clarified this
new committee’s role.
The senate debated the bill for the
past two weeks and reached a compro¬
mise concerning the bill’s language.
SGA Senate President Heath Padgett
said this bill does not advocate for any
particular belief but aims to show re¬
spect for everyone on campus, regard¬
less of their differences.
From Senator Danielle Starmer’s
perspective, this compromise was the
best possible outcome.
"Even though everyone was not 100
percent happy with this version, I feel
optimistic about this bill because it
shows that it is possible to take in deep
consideration of polarizing viewpoints
and combined them in a way that
makes the majority of people happy,"
Starmer said.
Starmer said she hopes this bill will
help shape how diversity is viewed
across campus.
"I have a lot hope because, especially
the wording in the bill, I feel we have
an opportunity to be an example for
all of Samford as far as diversity state¬
ments because they do have the prob¬
lem of beingvague," she said.
Senator Isaac Sours said this bill
was needed because it allows SGA’s
new Diversity Committee to better
help students who face bullying and
discrimination on campus.
'We are just trying to advocate for
people with needs. Not everything is
going to be legislative," he said. 'We
have students who come to the Diver¬
sity Committee with problems like be¬
ing bullied in their dorms .... and even
people being bullied in public."
Sours said these instances helped in¬
spire the bill.
"That's the Wtype of thingthat some¬
one in Senate should be hearing about
and maybe should be doing something
about it," Sours said.
Sours hopes this bill will allow Sen¬
ate to do that.
Sports Arts & Life
Profile of Zach Hester. Oscar reactions. P.6
P.3
Opinion The Samford Crimson
Opinionated braodcasting Volume 104, Issue 15
or (nature of bias) P.7 www.thesamfordcrimson.com
@TheSamfordCrimson
