Former NFL punter Marquette King suspects a “noogie” can have contributed to the top of his tenure with the Raiders.
During a recent appearance on “The Oasklosvegas Podcast” with Graphk Raider, King — who was cut from the Raiders in 2018 and later found success within the XFL — recalled an interesting encounter with Las Vegas owner Mark Davis, all of the while taking a shot at his infamous haircut.
“Besides the haircut, let’s see,” King said when asked if he had a Davis-centric story to share. “Oh, I do remember. This might be why I got cut.
“We were in Sarasota and I used to be vibing on the market. It was right after we played the Bills… We went out and got here back [to the hotel] and I used to be kinda lit.
“Then I used to be sitting out on the back of the patio and I had these two cougars beside me. We were just chilling, talking for a bit. It kinda got interesting.”
That’s when King said he bumped into Davis within the hotel lobby.
“I finished talking to them… and I’m going back to the [hotel] lobby, and I see Mark Davis and he’s like, ‘Hey Marquette, I see you!’” King recalled.
“I said, ‘My guy, what’s up?’ and I gave him a dap and put him in a headlock and went like this,” he continued while demonstrating the noogie along with his fist.
King then explained that Davis “used to inform me about how he would get treated back within the day and I used to be trying to indicate him a nicer version of that.”
“Because he was telling me he would get taped as much as the field-goal post and so they’d leave him on the market the complete time, and I used to be like, ‘Bro, I’d never do this to you,’” he said.
King reposted the clip of him talking about Davis and wrote on X, “I had too!” with a crying-laughing emoji.
This wasn’t the primary time King brought up his breakup with the Raiders.
The previous NFL player, 34, previously explained that things went downhill for him once Jon Gruden was re-hired because the Raiders’ head coach in January 2018.
During an appearance this week on 95.7 The Game, King claimed he was told that Gruden — who previously coached the Raiders from 1998 to 2001 — wanted him off the roster, despite never meeting the coach.
“As soon as I showed up, [then-Raiders general manager] Reggie [McKenzie] was telling me that Gruden doesn’t want me there,” King said. “We’re about to allow you to go, we’re gonna put you on the wire, and it’s gonna hit the news soon.”
King felt “scarred” by the situation, which he believed was personal.
“I truthfully should’ve took a yr off,” he said. “I used to be just so scarred from that, man. Feeling like anyone just has a motive behind just letting you go.
“I truthfully don’t understand. I feel it was hate. That’s what I feel like. That’s the one way you possibly can be like that towards anyone in case you never met them. I don’t know, some people just got hate of their heart.”
King was released from the team in March 2018 and had three years remaining on his contract.
A report from The Athletic in April of that yr alleged “there have been whispers of King’s personality not clicking with Gruden’s.”
Gruden resigned from the Raiders in October 2021 after an explosive Latest York Times report revealed he had used homophobic and misogynistic language in emails over a seven-year period ending in 2018.
King signed with the Raiders after going undrafted in 2012 and produced a career-best 42.7 net yards per punt in 2017 prior to his release.
He spent 4 games with the Denver Broncos in 2018 and averaged a career-worst 39.7 net yards per punt.
King currently plays for the XFL’s Arlington Renegades.