Gruden resigns as Raiders coach after leaked emails
Warning: Story contains coarse language
Jon Gruden resigned as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, he announced in a statement.
"I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction," Gruden said, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone."
The NFL recently began reviewing possible discipline for Gruden Friday after finding a 2011 email in which he used a racist trope to describe NFL Players Association director DeMaurice Smith. The league discovered the message while going through over 650,000 emails as part of an investigation into the Washington Football Team's workplace culture.
The resignation comes shortly after a report Monday from the New York Times revealed that Gruden also sent emails that included homophobic and misogynistic comments while working for ESPN as a color analyst from 2009-17.
Gruden sent the emails to former Washington executive Bruce Allen and others. He used a homophobic slur about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, calling him a "clueless anti-football p----."
The 58-year-old also said Goodell shouldn't have pressured former Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher to draft "q-----," referring to Michael Sam's selection in 2014. Gruden reportedly also denounced the emergence of women as referees and the league's tolerance of players protesting during the playing of the national anthem.
Gruden signed a reported 10-year, $100-million deal with Las Vegas in January 2018 for his second stint with the club. The Raiders have posted a 22-31 record since then but have missed the playoffs each year.
Assistant coach Rich Bisaccia will replace Gruden as the team's interim head coach. Vegas - currently on a two-game skid after starting the year 3-0 - is set to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Gruden owns a 117-112 record as a head coach in the NFL through stints with the Raiders (1998-2001, 2018-21) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002-08), including helping Tampa Bay win Super Bowl XXXVII.
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