While it is certain that former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden sent racist and homophobic emails, questions are now being raised on why said emails were leaked nearly a decade later in 2021.
If you don’t recall, two years ago it was revealed that Gruden sent emails during the 2011 NFL Lockout to the Washington Commander’s then-president Bruce Allen and said, “Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin tires,” referring to executive director of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith, who is Black.
He was so focused on being racist that he couldn’t even spell “Michelin” correctly.
Shortly after those emails leaked, The New York Times and The Atheltic also obtained emails of Gruden using homophobic language. In one 2014 email, referring to the NFL’s first openly gay player, Michael Sam, Gruden said that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should not have pressured the Rams head coach to draft “queers.” Another email saw Gruden refer to Goodell as a “faggot” and “clueless anti football pussy.”
Anyone who uses language like that does not deserve to have a job, let alone be an NFL coach. So as a result, Gruden resigned after showing his bigoted and homophobic ass. While I feel zero empathy toward a racist and sexist person like Gruden, it seems that others in the NFL world believe those emails were leaked by some of the most powerful figures in the league.
Accusations toward Roger Goodell and Daniel Snyder
In a new report from ESPN, multiple sources accuse Goodell and former idiot owner of the Washington Commanders, Daniel Snyder, of being a part of the email leak.
Four NFL owners anonymously accused Goodell of being involved in the leak and others said powerful league executives approved of the leaks. To no surprise, NFL Spokesman Brian McCarthy denied the claims, saying, “Neither the NFL nor the commissioner leaked Coach Gruden’s offensive emails,” according to ESPN.
But does anyone believe anything the NFL says these days? Not really.
When it comes to noted scumbag Snyder, other anonymous sources told ESPN that the former Commanders owner leaked the racist and homophobic messages to get on Goodell’s good side by helping the commissioner eliminate a “ longtime antagonist” in Gruden.
This is not surprising considering Snyder and the Commanders were in hot shit after an investigation showed that the Washington Football Team created a toxic work environment. Another anonymous source told ESPN that Smith was the one that leaked the racist “michellin lips” email that referenced him (I wouldn’t blame him).
It’s not clear what Gruden and his team are going to do with this information, but it’s obvious he wants some get back with the NFL. In November 2021, he sued the league, claiming he was targeted and made a scapegoat by Goodell.
In May 2022, the NFL took an L in a Nevada courtroom after a judge dismissed two motions aimed at avoiding a jury trial in Jon Gruden’s “tortious interference” lawsuit against the league.
While nobody has come out in an official capacity to side with Gruden and say that NFL execs were responsible for leaking his emails, it’s clear that others around the league feel the same as he does.