Raiders host Special Olympians in minicamp

Tuesday was a special day for the Raiders. They played host to three athletes from the Northern California Special Olympics soccer team. David Thomas, David Ellingsworth, and Orlando Williams spent the day at Raiders headquarters meeting several of their favorite Raiders players.

The three of them then had lunch with the players and took a tour of the facility. They were also fitted with custom authentic Raiders jerseys, each the number 1 with their last name on the back. With the jerseys, they wore their Special Olympic medal(s) with pride.

"I'm a soccer player and basketball player, plus I volunteer swim time keep," said Special Olympian David Thomas. "I enjoyed meeting all the players. I met the guy from the Kansas City Chiefs [Rodney Hudson]. I met one of the players from LSU today [Trindon Holliday]. It was fun having lunch with all the players and learn how they eat. That was fun."

Afterward, they attended Raiders minicamp practice, at the end of which they joined the team's huddle and they closed it out with ‘Raiders on three'.

Following practice, the players signed autographs for them, most notably Rod Streater, who apparently made quite an impression.

Ellingsworth in particular was a fan of another team - he didn't disclose what team that was - but said after this experience, he had a new favorite team.

"I changed my mind," said Ellingsworth. "I like Oakland Raiders!"

These three athletes shared their journey to qualifying for the World Games in Los Angeles this July, of which the Raiders are sponsors.

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