Jon Gruden out as Raiders coach over offensive emails

By JOSH DUBOW

Jon Gruden is retired arsenic manager of the Las Vegas Raiders aft emails helium sent earlier being hired successful 2018 contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments.

A idiosyncratic acquainted with the determination said Monday that Gruden is stepping down aft The New York Times reported that Gruden often utilized misogynistic and homophobic connection directed astatine Commissioner Roger Goodell and others successful the NFL.

The NFL Network archetypal reported the development.

It was a accelerated downfall for Gruden, who is successful the 4th twelvemonth of a 10-year, $100 cardinal declaration helium signed with the Raiders successful 2018. It started connected Friday erstwhile the Wall Street Journal reported that Gruden utilized a racist word to picture NFL national main DeMaurice Smith successful a 2011 email to erstwhile Washington enforcement Bruce Allen.

The emails were discovered successful a workplace misconduct probe into the Washington Football Team but ended up costing Gruden his occupation erstwhile they besides showed Gruden denounced the drafting of a cheery subordinate and the tolerance of players protesting during the playing of the nationalist anthem among different issues.

Gruden apologized for his “insensitive remarks” astir Smith, saying they were made retired of vexation implicit the 2011 lockout. But the latest emails sent from betwixt 2011-18 erstwhile Gruden was an expert for ESPN amusement his usage of derogatory connection went good beyond that.

A league root confirms the accuracy of the emails and said they were sent to the Raiders past week. The idiosyncratic spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that the league hasn’t made the emails public.

Raiders proprietor Mark Davis said past week that the email astir Smith was “disturbing and not what the Raiders basal for” and said the squad was reviewing the further emails.

The Times reported that Gruden utilized a cheery slur to insult Goodell and said helium was “clueless” and “anti-football.” He besides said Goodell shouldn’t person pressured the Rams to draught “queers,” a notation to Michael Sam, who was the archetypal openly cheery subordinate drafted by an NFL team.

Raiders antiaircraft extremity Carl Nassib came retired arsenic cheery successful June and is the archetypal openly cheery subordinate to look successful an NFL game.

In a 2017 email, the Times said Gruden responded to a sexist meme of a pistillate authoritative by saying: “Nice occupation roger.”

The insubstantial besides said Gruden criticized Goodell and the NFL league for trying to trim concussions, and said that Eric Reid, a subordinate who had demonstrated during the playing of the nationalist anthem, should beryllium fired.

The paper said Gruden besides mocked an nonfiction successful 2017 astir players calling connected Goodell to enactment their efforts promoting radical equality and transgression justness reform.

“He needs to fell successful his concussion protocol tent,” Gruden wrote.

Gruden and Allen person a agelong relationship, having worked unneurotic successful Oakland and Tampa Bay. The emails betwixt the 2 and different men included photos of women wearing lone bikini bottoms, including 1 photograph of 2 Washington squad cheerleaders.

Gruden besides criticized President Barack Obama during his re-election run successful 2012, and then-vice president Joe Biden.

Smith said earlier Monday that helium appreciates that Gruden reached retired to him pursuing the archetypal report, but that the email is grounds that the combat against racism is ongoing.

“But marque nary mistake, the quality is not astir what is said successful our backstage conversation, but what other is said by radical who ne'er thought they would beryllium exposed and however they are going to beryllium held to account,” Smith wrote successful a Twitter thread.

Gruden’s comments to Allen astir Smith came during the 2011 lockout of the players by the NFL. Gruden told the Wall Street Journal helium was aggravated astir the lockout during labour negotiations and helium didn’t spot the absorption the national was taking.

“Dum­b­oriss Smith has lips the size of michellin tires,” Gruden wrote successful the email re­viewed by the newspaper.

Davis had been trying to prosecute Gruden astir since helium took complaint pursuing the decease of his father, Al, successful 2011. He yet got his prize successful 2018 erstwhile Gruden agreed to permission ESPN and instrumentality to the sideline with a 10-year contract. Gruden had revived the Raiders successful is archetypal stint successful 1998-2001 and past bushed them successful the Super Bowl the pursuing play aft helium was traded to Tampa Bay for a boatload of draught picks.

Gruden has a 117-112 vocation grounds but hasn’t won a playoff crippled since the Super Bowl triumph implicit the Raiders successful the 2002 season.

His 2nd tenure with the squad started with a pep rally introductory quality league but provided fewer reasons for solemnisation arsenic Gruden had a 22-31 record, failing to scope a winning grounds oregon marque the playoffs.

He traded distant stars Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper successful his archetypal play to commencement a rebuild, which has showed lone insignificant progress. After the Raiders went 4-12 successful his archetypal season, Gruden tried to marque a propulsion successful 2019 successful the team’s last play successful Oakland by spending heavy successful escaped bureau and trading for prima receiver Antonio Brown. But Brown was chopped earlier the play aft a bid of run-ins with management, and the Raiders went 7-9.

They improved to 8-8 past play and got disconnected to a promising 3-0 commencement this twelvemonth earlier losing the past 2 games.

There is nary contiguous connection connected who volition instrumentality implicit arsenic interim coach.