HENDERSON (KTNV) — Making history more times than once. Sandra Douglass Morgan becoming the first black woman to become a city attorney in Nevada, the chair on the Nevada Gaming Board and now serving as the president of an NFL organization.
Rachel Moore sits down with the Las Vegas native breaking the glass ceiling, this time in the world of sports.
"You don't necessarily realize, sometimes when you're in the moment, but when you look at the photos and the videos after the fact, you realize that," says Raiders Team President Sandra Douglass Morgan.
EXTRA SPOTLIGHT
As Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium power up for Super Bowl LVIII, there's an extra spotlight shining on its Host Committee Vice Chair Douglass Morgan.
"I knew I was the first Black woman to hold this position, but also at the same time, I knew the Raiders have such a rich history of not making those decisions for the sake of making them..." says Douglass Morgan.
She goes on to say "...but putting the right person in place, which included the first African American Head Coach in Art Shell, and the first Latino Head Coach in Tom Flores who is a Hall of Famer, and the first CEO of an NFL team in Amy Trask, so this isn't something that's new for the Raiders."
While Douglass Morgan admits underestimating the gravity of this achievement, she never underestimated the opportunity to build upon the Raiders' legacy of diversity.
"For the Raiders, it's important that our team reflects our fanbase, and reflect our community that we're in. And we know that that's all growing and changing every single day," says Douglass Morgan.
A vision shared by Mark Davis. The Raiders owner courting Douglass Morgan to join the team for some time. Her reputation preceding her.
Born and raised in Las Vegas to a Korean mother who ran the Keno games at the Horseshoe and worked in gaming at the Landmark and Imperial Palace, and a black father, a U.S. Air Force Veteran who retired and worked at the post office.
"She often worked swing shift, my father worked day shift, so someone was always around us at home. It's funny, you know as a child I remember thinking, you know, a lot of my friends had parents that, you know, they had some time alone. But they were there to make sure they were always on the straight path," says Douglass Morgan.
PERSUING EDUCATION
While that path was always one of pursuing an education, it wasn't exactly straight.
"I thought I was going to end up in communications. Connie Chung was someone that was on our television station every single night when we watched the news together, then I went to UNR, for undergrad and took a constitutional law course, and you know, in college you have your core classes and some are more interesting in others..." says Douglass Morgan.
She goes on to say "...but that was a course that I always looked forward to attending and I just knew I wanted to dig a little bit deeper in Con Law and that's when I decided to go to law school."
Earning her law degree from UNLV, Douglass Morgan went on to become Nevada's first black city attorney, serving in North Las Vegas, and then the first Black woman to chair the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Now, as the first black woman president of an NFL franchise, she's changing the game. She says the league and other team presidents encouraging her to do things her way.
"I've always believed in effective communication. I think people are going to be more willing to lead (is this what she said?), 1. If they understand what the game plan is, and 2. If they can know that they trust their leader," says Douglass Morgan.
SUPPORT TEAM
A trusted leader of not only the Raiders, but also her family. She met her husband, Don, in college and they're raising two children, Dylan and Dana.
"We're a very strong unit and supportive of each other and lean on each other it's just great to be able to go home and have fun with them whether it be taking my son to basketball games or taking my daughter to dance practice and kind of enjoying those moments together," says Douglass Morgan.
Surrounding oneself with positive people is one of many mantras she lives by and encourages others.
"Be confident and believe in yourself, and to not be too hard on yourself when there are some challenges that go your way," says Douglass Morgan.
