Las Vegas Oct 12 (BUS): Jon Gruden has resigned as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after emails he sent prior to his appointment in 2018 contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments.
Gruden released a statement Monday evening, saying, “I have resigned from my position as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff and fans at Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.” “.
He resigned after the New York Times reported that Groden repeatedly used misogynistic and homophobic language directed at Commissioner Roger Goodell and others in the NFL, The Associated Press reports.
Special teams and assistant coach Rich Bisachia will take over on a temporary basis.
It was a quick meltdown for Gruden, who is in the fourth year of a 10-year $100 million contract he signed with the Raiders in 2018. It began Friday when the Wall Street Journal reported that Gruden had used a racist term to describe NFL headliner Demorris Smith in an email. 2011 to former Washington CEO, Bruce Allen.
The emails were caught in a workplace misconduct investigation with the Washington soccer team, but it ended up costing Gruden his job when it also showed that Gruden deplored the wording of a gay player and tolerated protesting players during the playing of the national anthem, among other issues.
Gruden has apologized for his “insensitive comments” about Smith, saying they came out of frustration with the 2011 shutdown. But the latest emails sent between 2011 and 2018 when Gruden was an ESPN analyst show his use of derogatory language far exceeded that.
A league source confirmed the accuracy of the emails and said they were sent to the raiders last week. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league did not release the emails to the public.
Raiders owner Mark Davis said last week that Smith’s email was “spam not what the raiders are for” and said the team was reviewing additional emails. Davis released a statement Monday saying only that he accepted Gruden’s resignation.
The Times reported that Groden used a homophobic insult to insult Goodell and said he was “ignorant” and “anti-football”. He also said Goodell shouldn’t pressure the Rams to draft “queers,” referring to Michael Sam, who was the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL.
Defensive End Raiders Karl Nesib came out as gay in June and is the first openly gay player to appear in an NFL game.
In a 2017 email, the newspaper said Gruden responded to an official’s sexist meme by saying, “Good job Roger.”
The newspaper also said Gruden criticized Goodell and the NFL League for trying to curb a concussion, and said Eric Reed, the player who posed while the national anthem was being played, should be fired.
Gruden also ridiculed an article in 2017 about players in which he called on Goodell to support their efforts to advance racial equality and criminal justice reform.
“He needs to hide in a concussion protocol tent,” Gruden wrote.
Gruden and Allen have a long relationship, having worked together in Oakland and Tampa Bay. The emails between the two men and the other two men contained photos of women wearing only bikini bottoms, including one of two of the Washington team captains.
Gruden also criticized President Barack Obama during his campaign for re-election in 2012, and then Vice President Joe Biden.
Smith said earlier on Monday that he appreciates that Groden reached out to him after the initial report, but the email is evidence that the fight against racism continues.
“But make no mistake, the news is not about what is being said in our private conversation, but what also are saying by people who never thought they would be compromised and how they will be held accountable,” Smith wrote in a tweet on Twitter. path.
Gruden’s comments came to Allen about Smith during the 2011 shutdown of players by the NFL. Groden told the Wall Street Journal that he was angry about the shutdown during labor negotiations and didn’t trust the direction the union was taking.
“Domburis Smith lips the size of Michelin tires,” Gruden wrote in the email reviewed by the newspaper.
Davis has been trying to hire Gruden almost since he took over after the death of his father, Al, in 2011. He finally took home his award in 2018 when Gruden agreed to leave ESPN and return to the fringes with a 10-year contract. Gruden revived the Raiders on his first assignment in 1998-2001 and then defeated them in the Super Bowl the following season after being traded to Tampa Bay for a boatload of draft picks.
Gruden has a career record of 117-112 but has not won a playoff game since the Super Bowl victory over the Raiders in the 2002 season.
His second stint with the team started with an impassioned rally preliminary press conference, but he offered few reasons to celebrate as Groden had a 22-31 record, failing to reach a record or make the playoffs.
He replaced co-stars Khalil Mack and Amary Cooper in his first season to begin rebuilding, which showed only slight progress. After the Raiders went 4-12 in his first season, Gruden attempted to make a boost in 2019 into the team’s final season in Oakland by spending heavily in free agency and trading for superstar Antonio Brown. But Brown was cut short before the season after a series of disagreements with management, and the Raiders went 7-9.
They improved to 8-8 last season and made a promising 3-0 start this year before losing their previous two games.
Bisaccia was the NFL special teams coordinator for 19 seasons with the Raiders, Chargers, Dallas and Tampa Bay. He has no coaching experience but his promotion will allow other assistants such as defensive coordinator Joss Bradley to remain in their current positions.