After making racist, homophobic, and sexist remarks in emails he wrote before being hired in 2018, Jon Gruden announced his resignation as the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach.
Gruden announced his resignation as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in a statement on Monday night. I don’t want to be a distraction since I adore the Raiders. We are grateful to all of the Raider Nation players, coaches, employees, and supporters. I apologize; I didn’t mean to cause harm to anyone.
Following allegations by The New York Times that Gruden had repeatedly used misogynistic and homophobic remarks about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other players, he resigned.
Rich Bisaccia, the assistant head coach, and special teams will step in temporarily.
For Gruden, who signed a 10-year, $100 million contract with the Raiders in 2018, it was a swift collapse. He is currently in the fourth year of the deal. It all began on Friday when the Wall Street Journal revealed that in a 2011 email to former Washington executive Bruce Allen, Gruden referred to NFL union president DeMaurice Smith using a racial slur.
The emails were found during a Washington Football Team investigation into workplace misconduct, but they ultimately cost Gruden his job because they revealed, among other things, that he disapproved of the drafting of a gay player and the allowance of players to demonstrate during the playing of the national anthem.
. However, the most recent emails that Gruden sent between 2011 and 2018, while he worked as an ESPN analyst, demonstrate that his use of offensive language extended much beyond that.
Owner of the Raiders, Mark Davis, stated last week that the team was looking over the other emails and that the email about Smith was unsettling and did not align with the Raiders’ values. In a statement released on Monday, Davis simply stated that he accepted Gruden’s departure.
According to The Times, Gruden called Goodell “clueless” and “anti-football,” using a derogatory term for gay people. A female official responded, “Nice work, Roger.”According to the newspaper, Gruden also suggested that Eric Reid, a player who had protested during the playing of the national anthem, ought to be dismissed, and he chastised Goodell and the NFL for their attempts to lower the number of concussions.
According to the publication, Gruden also made fun of a 2017 piece in which players urged Goodell to back their campaigns for criminal justice reform and racial equality.
Gruden wrote, “He has to hide in his concussion protocol tent.”
Gruden and Allen have been coworkers in Oakland and Tampa Bay for a long time. Emails between the two and other individuals featured pictures of women in only their underwear, one of which featured two cheerleaders for the Washington squad.
Gruden also attacked then-vice president Joe Biden and President Barack Obama in his 2012 reelection campaign.
Smith stated earlier on Monday that, while he is grateful that Gruden contacted him after the initial report, the email shows that the struggle against racism is still going strong.
Gruden spoke with Allen regarding Smith in the midst of the NFL’s 2011 player lockout. Gruden expressed his dissatisfaction with the union’s direction and his anger about the lockout during labor talks to the Wall Street Journal.
Since the moment he assumed leadership with the death of his father, Al, in 2011, Davis has been attempting to bring on Gruden. When Gruden decided to leave ESPN and return to the sidelines in 2018 with a 10-year contract, he finally received his reward. After being traded to Tampa Bay for a plethora of draft picks, Gruden defeated the Raiders in the Super Bowl the following season, having revitalized the team during his first stint from 1998 to 2001.
Despite having a 117-112 career record, Gruden hasn’t triumphed in a postseason game since the Raiders defeated the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2002.
Gruden’s second stint with the Raiders began with an exuberant opening news conference, but there were little grounds for joy as he finished with a 22-31 record, falling short of a winning record and missing out on the playoffs.