Former Raiders coach Gruden sues NFL over ‘Soviet-style character assassination’

• Coach resigned after release of racist and homophobic emails
• Lawsuit claims league led a campaign to bring down Gruden

Former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden has sued the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, alleging that a malicious and orchestrated campaign" was used to destroy Gruden's career by leaking old emails he had sent that included racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments.

The suit was filed in district court in Clark county, Nevada, on Thursday, exactly a month after Gruden resigned as Raiders coach following the publication of his emails by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.