Jon Gruden is a little out there.
Or as the kids these days might say, he’s a bit extra.
Gruden has a loud, out-sized personality after a lengthy coaching career in the NFL and a visible, high-profile gig as a top ESPN personality when he was an analyst on Monday Night Football.
So, perhaps, fittingly enough, Gruden goes above and beyond in choosing his words in making claims in a lawsuit filed in Clark County (Nevada) District Court against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell that comes a month after the coach handed in his resignation as Raiders head coach:
Former #Raiders coach Jon Gruden is suing the NFL and Roger Goodell in Nevada district court, alleging they sought to destroy Gruden’s career and reputation through a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” that led to his resignation last month, Gruden’s attorney tells me.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 12, 2021
Gruden’s lawsuit refers to it as “a Soviet-style character assassination. There was no warning and no process. Defendants held the emails for months until they were leaked to the national media in the middle of the Raiders’ season … to cause maximum damage to Gruden.”
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 12, 2021
Gruden resigned on Oct. 11, after a round of damning leaked emails came to light. The Gruden emails came out in a wave of news stories that wrapped around the Raiders’ Week 5 game against the Bears. It began when emails showing Gruden using a racist trope when discussing NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. A day later, Gruden emails featuring a “vulgar description” of Commissioner Goodell popped up. And shortly after emails including his denouncing women referees and a team drafting a gay player were leaked on the Monday after the Raiders lost, news of Gruden’s resignation came across the wire.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio highlights a handful of the claims in Gruden’s suit against the league. Among them (in brief):
⇒ The email leaks caused a forced resignation.
⇒ They also “tortiously interfered with his future economic interests.” (Ed. note: Great use of the word tortiously on Florio’s part, by the way.)
⇒ And general negligence by the league and its commissioner
For what it’s worth, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero tweets that NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy called the allegations “entirely meritless.” Nevertheless, this situation merits following. After all, Gruden’s emails — which were part of a probe investigating workplace malpractice in the Washington football organization — were the only ones to be pushed publicly. So, stay tuned. Perhaps this is just the tip of the iceberg in this given situation.