Is former Raiders coach John Gruden lying about his ‘inappropriate emails’ in his lawsuit against the NFL?

The former Raiders coach is in the middle of a lawsuit against the NFL, which is to say this latest development doesn’t help his case.

‘Inappropriate emails,’ John Gruden’s allegations & the NFL’s stance

Though you may have forgotten, the lawsuit which former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden filed against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell is in full swing. What’s more, is that according to recent reports, the was in fact a very curious development in proceedings this week. To be clear, Gruden alleges that the NFL and its commissioner created “a malicious and orchestrated campaign” to leak inappropriate emails sent by him between 2010 and 2018, which ultimately ended with his resignation. What’s key here is that this was a time before his tenure with the Raiders. According to a new filing made by the NFL, however, it now appears that Gruden sent inappropriate emails “consistently” during his time with the Raiders as well. Indeed, as per reports, the filing was made by the league in a Nevada court last week. It is understood, that Gruden’s derogatory emails were sent even after he put pen to paper on a contract with the Raiders back in 2018. To that end, the NFL’s attorneys were quick to focus on the discovery.

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“Gruden even claims in his Proposed Order that it is ‘undisputed that all of Gruden’s conduct referenced by the NFL Parties occurred prior to the signing of the Agreement and while Gruden was not an employee of the Raiders or the NFL,’” the league’s attorneys wrote. “Gruden’s claim (and purported finding of fact) on the timing of his emails is, in reality, very much disputed by the NFL Parties and in fact false. Discovery - necessary to make any finding of fact on this issue - will show that Gruden continued to send the same kinds of derogatory emails consistently following his start date with the Raiders.”

John Gruden’s attorney has his say

It wasn’t long before Gruden’s attorney, Adam Hosmer-Henner, responded to the NFL’s legal stance. Speaking about the response from the league’s attorneys, Hosmer-Henner drew attention to both chronology and the notion that the league had previously acknowledged the timing of Gruden’s emails.

“The NFL did not make these unsubstantiated arguments in the motions they already lost and will not be able to make them if they appeal,” Hosmer-Henner said. “In fact, their own attorney conceded during the hearing that the emails were sent before Jon Gruden signed with the Raiders. The NFL has tried to avoid discovery from the start, not Jon Gruden. This is just another attempt by the NFL and Commissioner Goodell to save face by attacking Jon Gruden while still not owning up the truth of their actions. Jon isn’t going to try to hide from his deposition, is the Commissioner?” To date, the NFL has maintained that it was not responsible for leaking the emails. On those grounds, the league attempted to have the case dismissed in May, however, Judge Nancy Allf denied the motion and here we are.

Did John Gruden really blow a Brady/Gronkowski deal?

While his legal battle is one thing, Gruden surely can’t be happy about the other reason that his name was recently in the news. Speaking recently as a special guest on GronkCast, UFC presdident Dana White seemed to suggest that were it not for the former Raiders coach, both Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski could have been Raiders player. As wild as that seems, Gronkowski actually went on to confirm the story as true to the word. That’s all to say, that not only does John Gruden appear to have an issue with women and racial diversity, but he lacks vision in the very game he made a career in as well.