Jon Gruden wasn’t happy with having to leave his role as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after his private emails were leaked, revealing insensitive comments exchanged back and forth between he and Bruce Allen.
Now, he reportedly is suing the NFL and Roger Goodell for how it all played out.
“Through a malicious and orchestrated campaign, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell sought to destroy the career and reputation of Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” read the introduction to the lawsuit filed by the McDonald Carano law firm on Gruden’s behalf, via NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
Allen, former president of the Washington Football Team, was being investigated by the NFL for its workplace culture, and as a result, his email exchanges with Gruden were among 650,000 that were reviewed.
Some of Gruden’s leaked messages were racist, misogynistic and homophobic in nature, and though he’s apologized for what he said, he’s finding it hard to believe that no other controversial emails were reported from the investigation.
It’s the point Gruden’s attorney, Adam Hosmer-Henner, argued in a statement via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.
“The complaint alleges that the defendants selectively leaked Gruden’s private correspondence to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times in order to harm Gruden’s reputation and force him out of his job,” Hosmer-Henner said. “There is no explanation or justification for why Gruden’s emails were the only ones made public out of the 650,000 emails collected in the NFL’s investigation of the Washington Football Team or for why the emails were held for months before being released in the middle of the Raider’s season.”
Gruden reluctantly resigned from the Raiders on Oct. 11, but it appears that wasn’t an indication of him giving up the fight.
