Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach Jon Gruden recently resigned from his position after reports emerged of him having used racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language in his emails while he worked as an analyst at ESPN.
In a statement that was issued by the Raiders, Gruden said, “I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.” Mark Davis, the owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, said he has accepted Jon Grudgen’s resignation.
Gruden has coached the Raiders since the start of the 2018 season. Critics have been urging for him to be fired since The Wall Street Journal stated that he used racially insensitive language when describing DeMaurice Smith, who was the executive director of the NFL Players Association, in an email from 2011.
Later, the New York Times reviewed more of his emails and found that he denounced women working as on-field officials and a team drafting a player who was openly gay. The said emails were uncovered and presented to Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, recently.
Brain McCarthy, the league spokesman, said, “The email from Jon Gruden denigrating DeMaurice Smith is appalling, abhorrent and wholly contrary to the NFL’s values. We condemn the statement and regret any harm that its publication may inflict on Mr. Smith or anyone else.”
Joe Gruden is one of the highest-paid coaches of the NFL. According to Spotrac, he signed a 10-year, $100 million contract with the raiders. He first coached the Las Vegas team from 1998 to 2001. He then went on to score a Super Bowl win with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. He was the youngest coach to win the tournament, at the time.