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Just whine, baby: Gruden sues NFL over leaked e-mails

December 2021 employment law letter
Authors: 
Mark I. Schickman, Schickman Law

The Oakland . . . I mean Los Angeles . . . I mean Oakland . . . I mean Las Vegas Raiders have a tradition of high-profile litigation second to no one in sports. Al Davis’ “just win, baby” philosophy spilled off the gridiron and into courtroom battles as well. So, it comes as little surprise that Jon Gruden is suing the NFL for publicly trashing his reputation and conspiring to wrongfully fire him as the Raiders’ head coach.

Unsavory accusations

What is Gruden accused of as the lever to force his termination? Lots of inflammatory e-mails he wrote between 2011 and 2018, while he was an ESPN announcer and not affiliated with the NFL in any way. The e-mails were found during the league’s sexual harassment investigation into the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins.

Because Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem, Gruden opined in an e-mail to Washington’s former general manager, Bruce Allen, that “they should cut this f__k.” Gruden called NFL Player Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith “rubber lips,” a term widely considered racist but that Gruden says was intended to imply only that the football union boss was a liar.

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