Jon Gruden hoping ‘truth’ comes out in legal battle with NFL

Former head coach Jon Gruden is “looking forward” to the “truth” coming out over his allegations that the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell had leaked disparaging emails that Gruden had sent before his resignation as head coach of the Raiders in 2021. 

In a statement to ESPN, less than 24 hours after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in his favor to prevent the league from forcing Gruden’s suit into a closed-door arbitration, the Super Bowl-winning coach reiterated his claim that the league had a hand in the whole situation. 

“I’m looking forward to having the truth come out, and I want to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Gruden said. 

“The league’s actions disrupted the whole season,” Gruden added. “We were leading the division at the time, and they completely blindsided me and the team.”

“What happened wasn’t right and I’m glad the court didn’t let the NFL cover it up,” he added in his statement. 

The emails in question were published by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times in October 2021 and showed Gruden using racist, sexist and anti-gay language in messages sent to then-Commanders general manager Bruce Allen in the years before Gruden’s coaching tenure in Las Vegas. 

The emails came up during the NFL’s inquiry into the Commanders’ toxic work environment, and Gruden claims they were leaked to force him to resign as head coach of the Raiders, something he eventually did.

ESPN reported the league will next petition the Nevada Supreme Court for a rehearing. If that fails, the NFL would then appeal to the United States Supreme Court. 

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in Gruden’s favor in a 5-2 decision, but the court did not determine the merits of Gruden’s legal claims, only making the call on the NFL’s attempt to push the case into a private arbitration.