Former NFL head coach and broadcaster Jon Gruden is involved in a lawsuit against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell for leaking emails he sent that contained racist, misogynistic, and homophobic slurs. According to the final report of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform into the Washington Commanders workplace, the team and by extension owner Dan Snyder might have been the source of the leak.
Let’s start at the beginning.
In October 2021, a league investigation into the Commanders for workplace misconduct uncovered emails Gruden sent to then-Washington general manager Bruce Allen where Gruden used a variety of racist, homophobic and misogynistic slurs.
In a series of emails written and sent by Gruden between 2011 and 2018, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was referred to as a “faggot,” and a “clueless anti football p-ssy.” Gruden also said Goodell shouldn’t have pressured the then St. Louis Rams to draft “queers,” referring to Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in league history.
Gruden stated that all players who protest the national anthem should be “fired,” referring to former San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid. Gruden used a racist stereotype to describe NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, saying “Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin [sic] tires”.
Gruden also called then-Vice President Joe Biden a “nervous clueless p-ssy.” Gruden, Allen and others were also sent emails from someone inside the organization containing topless photos of women, including two team cheerleaders.
Gruden resigned as coach of the then-Oakland Raiders and sued the NFL and Goodell for allegedly leaking the emails and what his lawyers called a concerted effort to ruin his coaching career.
The Washington franchise already had the spotlight on it and now another one was shining. When judiciary committees and huge legal teams start digging, they will find dirt.
In the 79-page report there was an exchange during Allen’s deposition where he recalls a conversation with Lisa Friel, the league’s special counsel for investigations. Allen was complaining to Friel about how the emails got to the journalists.
From a portion of Allen’s deposition in the report: “I said, ‘Well, who in the hell is giving my emails to The Wall Street Journal? Why don’t I — I’m the only person that doesn’t have my own emails. Why?’ And she went on to say, ‘We didn’t do it at the league office. It came out of their side.'”
When asked who Friel was referring to when she said “their side,” Allen said, “She’s pointing a finger at the team.”
To be clear, this is just testimony in a deposition from Allen. It’s an allegation from Friel to Allen that the Washington franchise was the source of the leak.
The NFL’s hands aren’t clean in this scenario. Maybe it was the Washington franchise, but the report clearly indicates the NFL had been aware of the toxic environment in D.C. and did nothing to stop it.
“We saw efforts that we have never seen before, at least I haven’t,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, who chaired the committee,” told ESPN this week. “The NFL knew about it, and they took no responsibility.”
This whole situation is ugly and a stain on both the franchise and the NFL. Will it ultimately matter? Probably not. Millions of people will tune in to the Commanders’ next game, and when Snyder sells the team, he will make a ridiculous profit. And the world keeps spinning.
As for Gruden and his lawsuit, who knows. Either way, the content of those emails sunk any chance he had of coaching in the NFL again.
