Davis Shoots Back at Allen, Says Charges Were Blatant Lies

The feud between Al Davis and Marcus Allen heated up Sunday when the Raider owner accused Allen, whom he called a cancer to the team, of lying when he claimed that Davis ordered his playing time reduced to keep him out of the Hall of Fame.

“I think what Marcus did and said about Al Davis were blatant lies,” Davis said in an interview on CBS’ “NFL Today” before the Dallas-Philadelphia playoff game.

“That he sneakedly and in a cheap-shot way brought Art Shell into it, it shouldn’t have been done. It forced Art to call him a liar and (this from) someone who was a distraction and a cancer to our football team.”

Davis said Allen’s charges, made in an interview on ABC at halftime of a Monday night game, hurt the running back’s reputation.

“Look, we’ve always been positive here,” Davis said. “We’ll remember him as a quality player who made a contribution. But he had his own agenda and that asterisk will be next to his name for all time.”