Sunday , April 2 2023

NFL responds to “horrible, disgusting” e-mail comment by Raiders coach Jon Gruden



[ad_1]

A report that Jon Gruden used a racist comment about NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith in an e-mail 10 years ago sparked a strong and quick reprimand from the NFL on Friday.

In the story of the Wall Street Journal, it was noticed that Gruden, who then worked for ESPN, and now the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, looked at Smith’s facial features in a racist way.

“An email from Jon Gruden denigrating DeMaurice Smith is horrible, disgusting and completely contrary to NFL values,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. “We condemn the statement and regret any damage that its publication could cause to Mr. Smith or anyone else.”

The league is investigating the matter, and a person familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press that Gruden is a possible disciplinary measure. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of any league investigation are not being released.

Gruden’s comment in an e-mail to the then president of the Washington football team, Bruce Allen, came during the exclusion of players by the NFL in 2011. Gruden told the newspapers that he was angry about the blockade during the labor negotiations and that he did not believe in which direction the union was going. He also apologized for the remark, the Journal reported.

“Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of Michelin tires,” Gruden wrote in an e-mail reviewed by the newspaper.

The owner of the attacker, Mark Davis, said in a statement that Gruden’s e-mail did not reflect the team’s standards.

“The content of an email about DeMaurice Smith from Jon Gruden when he worked for ESPN 10 years ago is disturbing, not what the Raiders are advocating,” Davis said. “The reporter informed us about the e-mail late yesterday and we are reviewing it along with other materials provided to us today by the NFL. We are addressing this issue with Coach Gruden and we will have no further comments at this time.

During a review of e-mails regarding misconduct in the Washington football team, which ended during the summer, “the league was informed of the existence of emails that raised issues beyond the scope of that investigation,” McCarthy added.

“Over the past few months, by order of the commissioner,” he added for Roger Goodell, “senior NFL executives have reviewed the contents of more than 650,000 e-mails, including this e-mail sent to a club employee. , executives presented a summary of that review to the commissioner and we exchange emails with Raiders executives regarding coach Gruden. “

Smith told the newspaper: “This is not the first racist comment I’ve heard and probably won’t be the last. This is a thick-skinned job for someone with dark skin, just as has always been the case for many people who look like me and work in corporate America, “

Gruden admits he went “too far”

Gruden defended his resume on racial equality and inclusion, acknowledging that his email had gone “too far”.

Gruden has led the Raiders since 1998, until he was replaced by Tampa Baia after the 2001 season. He immediately led the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl title – against the Raiders.

He spent the entire 2008 season in Tampa before being fired, and then headed to the “Football Night Mondai” booth.

The Riders, then in Oakland, hired Gruden in 2018 with a 10-year contract of 100 million dollars for the USA. The team moved to Las Vegas last year and has not qualified for the playoffs since his return. But the Raiders are 3-1 in 2021.



[ad_2]
Source link