Raiders Coach Jon Gruden Resigns After Leaked Emails Scandal
Las Vegas Raiders coach, Jon Gruden, resigned from his post on Monday, following the leaked email scandal that revealed him using racial, homophobic, and misogynistic slurs.
Gruden had signed a $100 million 10-year contract in 2018 to become the head coach of Raiders once again after he left the post in 2001, NFL reported. Gruden is currently in the fourth season of his contract, but he decided to leave his post amid the scandal brought by the emails that leaked.
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Raiders Coach Jon Gruden Resigns
In a statement, Gruden pointed out that the reason behind his resignation is to not be a distraction for the team, CBS Sports reported. Gruden thanked the fans of the Raiders, the players, and the staff. He also offered an apology for his actions.
"I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone," Gruden's statement reads, which was also released on Monday night.
Raiders owner Mark David also confirmed Gruden's resignation as the head coach of the team.
As Gruden will leave his post in the Raiders, assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia is expected to assume as Raiders head coach.
It can be recalled that Gruden hired Bisaccia as a part of the original staff in 2018. Bisaccia was also known to work with Gruden with the Buccaneers in stint during 2002-2010 in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Raiders Coach Leaked Emails
In July 2011, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Gruden sent an email about NFL Players Association's Executive Director, DeMaurice Smith, describing the official using a racist trope.
"Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of Michelin tires," said Gruden in the email he sent.
Executive Director Smith, who is Black, took to Twitter on Monday to comment on the email from Gruden that mentioned him.
"The email from Jon Gruden - and some of the reaction to it - confirms that the fight against racism, racist tropes, and intolerance is not over," Smith noted in his tweet.
In an interview, Gruden revealed that his email with racist slur stemmed from his frustration from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, from "keeping players and coaches from doing what they love with a lockout."
Gruden furthered that he felt the commissioner was not doing enough to make football safe for players.
"I was in a mission with high school football during that time, and there were a lot of parents who were scared about letting kids play football," Gruden emphasized, adding that the issue did not "sit well" with him.
Aside from the racist comments, emails containing misogynistic and homophobic claims were also sent to former Washington Football team president Bruce Allen. Gruden had concerns about women becoming NFL referees. He also criticized Michael Sam's entrance into the league. Sam is an openly gay NFL player.
Allen and Gruden mocked Buccaneers owner Bryan Glazer and Caitlyn Jenner using homophobic and transphobic slurs, NBC Sports reported.
Raiders Coach Under Probe Over Leaked Emails
Gruden's resignation came after the Raiders coach was placed under probe by the NFL due to the emails that leaked in the previous week.
A person familiar with the matter said that the NFL is reviewing Gruden's status for the raiders for potential discipline. Meanwhile, the Raiders is reviewing multiple Gruden emails sent to the team from the league.
More than 650,000 emails were reported to be reviewed by the NFL executives as part of the workplace probe in Washington.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written By: Joshua Summers
WATCH: Jon Gruden OUT as Raiders Coach in Wake of Inflammatory Emails - From CBS Sports HQ