Raiders, Gruden come to settlement over resignation due to offensive emails

Update (10/27/21): The Las Vegas Raiders have reached a settlement with former head coach Jon Gruden over Gruden’s resignation due to offensive emails Gruden was reported to have sent. Raiders owner Mark Davis confirmed the settlement Wednesday after a meeting with NFL owners ended. Gruden received a 10-year, $100 million contract to coach the team in 2018.

“He’s hurt, he’s really hurt. I understand that. But he understands the ramifications of what he said,” Davis said of Gruden Wednesday. “We all have our demons in life.”

Also on Wednesday, Davis wondered about the timing of the leaking of the Gruden emails. They were a part of independent investigation of the Washington Football Team. While Davis said he doesn’t believe his team was targeted in the leaking of the emails, he would like the league to release a written report of the investigation.

“I would like to see some of the things that were charged,” Davis said. The NFL has said it would not release documents from the investigation, saying the league is protecting the identities of those who testified.

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Original Story (10/12/21): In a statement Monday night, Jon Gruden announced he had resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in the wake of multiple reports that revealed offensive emails Gruden sent before he was hired.

"I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. 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."

Jon Gruden

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 12, 2021

Gruden’s fall from grace began Friday, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Gruden used a racist term to describe NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith in a 2011 email to former Washington executive Bruce Allen. The final straw came when The New York Times reported Monday that the former coach frequently used misogynistic and homophobic language in emails directed at Commissioner Roger Goodell and others in the NFL.

The comments were discovered following a workplace misconduct investigation into the Washington Football Team. An anonymous league source confirmed the accuracy of the emails to The Associated Press, and said they were sent to the Raiders last week. The condition of anonymity was given because the league hasn’t made the emails public.

Mark Davis, the owner of the Raiders, said in a statement that he had accepted the resignation. Last week, he said the email about Smith was “disturbing and not what the Raiders stand for”.

In its report, the Times said the former coach used a gay slur to insult Goodell in at least one of the emails, calling him “clueless” and “anti-football.” He also said Goodell shouldn’t have pressured the Rams to draft “queers”. That was a reference to Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team. Gruden coached Carl Nassib, the first active NFL player to come out as gay, this season.

The Times also said Gruden responded to a sexist meme of a female official by saying, “Nice job Roger.”

The paper also said the former coached used emails to criticize Goodell for trying to reduce concussions and said a player who had demonstrated during the playing of the national anthem should be fired.

Special teams and assistant head coach Rich Bisaccia will take over for Gruden as head coach on an interim basis.