NFL
Raiders Coach Gruden leaving Las Vegas after reports of homophobic, sexist emails
Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden has told team owner Mark Davis he was resigning, after reports that he sent homophobic, misogynistic, and racist emails.
Jon Gruden has resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, following a New York Times report that he used anti-LGBTQ and anti-women expressions in emails sent to the former president of the Washington Football Team, Bruce Allen, among others.
The Times released details of the homophobic and misogynistic email exchanges that took place between 2010 and 2018 while Gruden was working as an ESPN analyst.
Gruden's racist remarks
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Gruden had used racist language to describe NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith, to which the ex-coach responded by saying, “I don’t have a racial bone in my body”.
The emails surfaced as part of an NFL investigation into reports of workplace misconduct that was not strictly directed at Gruden. League Commissioner Roger Goodell had ordered a review of more than 650,000 emails, which revealed how the former coach's offensive remarks managed to cover a very wide array of targets.
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Gruden's anti-LGBTQ and misogynist language
According to the Times, the collection of messages revealed that aside from racist comments, Gruden also spewed a lot of homophobic and sexist slurs.
He called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a “fa—-t” and a “clueless anti football p—-y”, per the report. Gruden also reportedly mocked the drafting of Michael Sam, who was the first publicly gay player to be drafted in the NFL.
Gruden also attacked the appointment of women as referees, and traded pictures of half-naked women with Allen, including those of Allen’s team’s cheerleaders, said the report.
Other issues he blasted included tolerance for player protests for racial justice and efforts to reduce concussions in the league.
There were also numerous examples of derogatory terms used in reference to other people involved in the league, including NFL owners, coaches, and journalists.
Raiders assistant coach Rich Bisaccia is set to take over Gruden's duties for the moment, according to ESPN.