The email scandal that rocked the NFL and ended former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s career is still unfolding.
According to emails that TMZ Sports obtained, former Washington Football Team President Bruce Allen thought it was acceptable to speculate about players’ voter turnout.
I’m legit angry!
Former WFT President Bruce Allen and Jeff Pash talking about black people. pic.twitter.com/N1ZOISz6H9
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) October 15, 2021
No Joking Matter
Allen joked that he would wager almost none of the league’s players vote.
Allen had the email exchange with the NFL’s General Counsel, Jeff Pash. According to reports, the emails resided within the more than 650,000 emails turned over during the league’s 2020 investigation of the Washington Football Team.
“I just got a phone call reminding me to vote in the Virginia primary before 7pm today (which I’m going to do),” wrote Allen in a 2018 email. “If NFL rules permitted NFL employees to gamble, I would bet $20.00 that less than 1% of NFL players voted in primaries this year.”
Pash responded, “maybe even take the under,” a reference to betting that even less than 1% of players had voted. Pash has been described as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s close associate.
The revelations in recent days about what Jeff Pash, Bruce Allen and others have said in private are both disrespectful and unacceptable in our sport, business and society and I have relayed my thoughts directly to the Commissioner with respect to this latest email release.
— DeMaurice Smith (@demauricesmith) October 16, 2021
WFT Woes
Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder fired Bruce Allen in December 2019. Allen had a 10-year run with the team, which ended abruptly with a three-sentence statement from Snyder saying that Allen had been “relieved of his duties” and was “no longer with the organization.”
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Allen, whose brother George Allen Jr. was a Virginia governor and later a U.S. senator, was the team’s second in command.
Jeffrey Pash joined the National Football League in January 1997 and is currently executive vice president and general counsel. He is widely considered to be the second most powerful executive in the NFL, after Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Re questions on emails between Bruce Allen and Jeff Pash: not shocked/not surprised.
NFL is very political. Allen hired to leverage his relationships in league office. He was team's "lobbyist" to gain slight edge over 31 other teams.
Unseemly underbelly of business of the NFL.— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) October 17, 2021
The Enemy Within
For Goodell, Pash is his consigliere, like Tom Hagen to Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” movies.
The NFL has been investigating the toxic workplace of the Washington Football Team. When email exchanges between Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen were leaked, Gruden resigned from the Las Vegas Raiders organization.
Undoubtedly, the NFL knew about its general counsel’s complicity in the suspicious emails with Allen. However, it is unclear whether the league will take action against Pash.
650k emails & only Jon Gruden, Bruce Allen & Jeff Pash was cruddy… yeah ok.. pic.twitter.com/R2BCPnvUMi
— Double L must Rock The Bells (@LoveThePuck) October 16, 2021
Rules Are Rules
According to the NFL Code of Conduct, “all persons associated with the NFL are required to avoid “conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League.” This requirement applies to players, coaches, other team employees, owners, game officials, and others privileged to work in the National Football League.
Additionally, the revelation of the Allen and Pash email exchange opens the door to the continued calls for releasing all the emails for the Washington Football team investigation.
More Fallout
The NFL Players Association has been vocal about their request for the NFL to release the remaining emails related to the investigation into the workplace of the Washington Football Team.
Thus far, the NFL has refused to release the emails, although the pressure of the player’s union, led by DeMaurice Smith, who was a target of the Gruden emails, might lend more credence to the campaign.
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