As head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Jon Gruden had lost two games in a row following the results from this past Sunday.
As evidenced by a slew of recently-discovered emails, however, Jon Gruden has lost at the game of life.
Badly.
And now he’s out of a job.
Gruden resigned late Monday following reports that emails he wrote over a 10-year period included racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language.
“I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction,” Gruden said in a statement last night, adding simply:
“Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.”
In a statement of his own, Las Vegas owner Mark Davis said he accepted Gruden’s resignation.
This shocking development came three days after The New York Times ran a story about how Gruden had sent an email containing racist remarks directed at National Football League Players Association head DeMaurice Smith.
“Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin [sic] tires,” wrote the disgraced ex-coach.
As part of an investigation into the misogynistic culture of the Washington Football Team, more emails Gruden sent over the years to then-Washington team president Bruce Allen then came to light on Monday.
These messages proved that Gruden has an issue with minorities across the board.
In these emails…
- … Gruden referred to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as a “faggot” and a “clueless anti football pussy.”
- … Gruden said in an email that Goodell shouldn’t have pressured then-St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher to draft “queers,” a reference to Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by the league in 2014.
- … Grudden criticized the hiring of women as referees, along with the acceptance of players protesting for racial justice during the national anthem.
- … Gruden sent topless photos of cheerleaders to the recipients.
“The comments are clearly repugnant under any circumstance,” ESPN said in a statement because Gruden worked as a broadcaster for the network in 2011, when most of these emails were sent.
Gruden, 58, became the Raiders head coach in 2018, agreeing to a 10-year contract worth a reported $100 million.
By walking away from the position, he will forfeit about $60 milliion in salary.
The Raiders, off to a 3-2 start this season, went 22-31 under Gruden this time around, after he initially coached the same team from 1998 to 2001.
Gruden also won the Super Bowl as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003.
“It’s awful. It’s awful to hear that,” said Monday Night Football analyst Brian Griese when the news broke.
“Clearly there was more than the one email exchange about DeMaurice Smith.
“With all those things coming out, I don’t see any way [team owner] Mark Davis couldn’t have that conversation with Jon Gruden.
“You can’t come back from that, not in this day and age, nor should he.”
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