Apparently Al Davis isn’t very good with goodbyes.

Nancy Gay of NFL.Fanhouse.com reports that the Raiders are still undecided about whether or not to allow JaMarcus Russell to participate in their three-day minicamp, which beings this Friday.

Why wouldn’t Davis concede he made a terrible mistake by drafting Russell and paying him so much for so little?

Consider Davis’ now-infamous “You’re Fired” letter to former coach Lane Kiffin, made public via overhead projector in September 2008. It spelled out the owner’s belief in Russell’s potential quite succinctly.

Here is paragraph six of the letter, dated Sept. 12, 2008, entitled, “Dear Lane”:

“I do realize that you did not want us to draft JaMarcus Russell. He is a great player. Get over it and coach this team on the field, that is what you were hired to do. We can win with this team!”

Everyone likes to point out how Davis doesn’t care about what everyone things about him. If that’s the case, then he shouldn’t care if people point out that Kiffin was right about Russell. Plus, for the first time in a long while, Davis put together a nice draft for the Raiders and should continue to move forward instead of backwards. Russell represents a horrible past mistake and therefore, shouldn’t be viewed as part of the team’s present or future.

Just move on, Al. It’ll be like pulling off a band aid.

Photo from fOTOGLIF