Swearinger: Gruden came at me via text messages in 2018

Warning: Story contains coarse language

D.J. Swearinger shared a heated conversation Jay Gruden initiated when the safety played for the former Washington head coach in 2018, adding to the culture questions the franchise is facing.

Swearinger published a screenshot of the messages one day after a lengthy report from The Washington Post detailed sexual and verbal harassment allegations against the team.

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#WhatTheyDontSee So Let's Set The Record Straight on Why & How Things Went South For Me In Washington. To All My Athletes, Imagine Getting A Text Like This From Your Head Coach @ 10 @ night about an interview where you thought you handled It Professionally after getting blew Out 40-16 by Giants. This Is When I Lost Respect For The Washington Staff & Head Coach. He Wanted Me To Act Out But I Handled It Professionally & The Next Day He Told Me That Somebody Told Him That I Said Something About him in the interview but when he watched the interview he realized that person was lying & he actually agreed with everything I said. Soooo as a player how would you look @ your coach for the rest of the season?! How can you motivate yourself to play for a guy who talks to you less than a man?! Being the man I am I couldn't be myself after this & that is what lead me to my last interview in which I said a few things that were true but not on the right stage or platform. Understand It's A Cause & Effect To Everything In Life!!! As A Man You Have To Find Your Peace Through All The Negativity & Move Fwd!! I Was Gonna Give The Man A Pass but after what's going on with that organization with women! They all need to be exposed. I have a daughter to raise!

A post shared by Dj Swearinger (@jungleboi_swaggg) on Jul 17, 2020 at 11:35am PDT

In the caption, Swearinger writes that Gruden began the exchange after someone told him the defensive back spoke negatively about the coach to the media following a blowout loss.

The conversation is timestamped Dec. 8, 2018. Swearinger, who started 15 games that season, was waived on Dec. 24. He had been publicly critical of defensive coordinator Greg Manusky before being cut. Afterward, the defender said Gruden never gave him an explanation for his release.

Washington fired Gruden in 2019 after an 0-5 start to the season, and he later joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as their offensive coordinator. He served as Washington's head coach for five-plus seasons, going 35-49-1.

Swearinger, meanwhile, is preparing for training camp as a member of the New Orleans Saints.

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