Stephen A. Smith believes Jon Gruden is done after a series of offensive emails that he sent over a period of 10 years. (1:14)
HENDERSON (Nev.) -- Jon Gruden, former coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, is suing Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, and the NFL in the wake his emails being released during an investigation into Washington Football Team.
Gruden's lawyer, Adam Hosmer Henner, of McDonald Carano, stated in a statement, that the lawsuit was filed at the Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, Nevada.
Hosmer-Henner stated that Gruden's private correspondence was leaked to the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and other media outlets in an attempt to damage Gruden's reputation. "There is no explanation for Gruden's emails not being made public from the 650,000 emails that were collected by the NFL in its investigation into the Washington Football Team. The emails were also kept for months before they were released at the end of the Raiders season."
Emails that contained anti-gay, racist and misogynistic language were sent over seven years starting in 2011, when Gruden was an analyst for Monday Night Football at ESPN.
Brian McCarthy, a spokesperson for the NFL, called Gruden's claims "entirely meritless" but stated that the league would vigorously defend these claims.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Gruden used a racial trope as a way to describe DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association. Gruden apologized and two days later, a defeated Raiders team was defeated at home by the Chicago Bears.
The New York Times published many more emails from Gruden on Oct. 11. Gruden resigned the following evening, apologizing and stating that he never intended to cause any harm.
These emails were discovered as part of an investigation by the NFL into workplace misconduct allegations against the Washington Football Team. Gruden sent them to Bruce Allen, then-Washington president, and other recipients.
Gruden has remained silent since his resignation, as the Raiders went 2-1 under interim coach Rich Bisaccia. They host the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night.
Gruden was the Raiders' original coach from 1998 to 2001. He was traded to Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001. Gruden was also with ESPN from 2009 through 2017. Gruden returned to the Raiders in 2018 with a 10-year contract that was worth an estimated $100 million.
