Jon Gruden has resigned from his role as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after the surfacing of multiple emails containing racist and homophobic remarks.
In the aftermath, players have not shown much sympathy toward Gruden. Keyshawn Johnson, who played under Gruden for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during their Super Bowl victory in 2002, labeled him as a “fake.” Johnson stated on ESPN radio, “He’s always been a phony from the beginning. People fell for it because he took over a championship team that Tony Dungy and Rich McKay had built.”
One of the emails made public last Friday featured Gruden making derogatory comments about DeMaurice Smith, the head of the NFL Player’s Association who is Black, referring to his lips in a derogatory manner. Another email, released on Monday and dated back to 2014 when Michael Sam, an openly gay player, joined the St. Louis Rams, expressed Gruden’s discontent with the league hiring “queers.”
Mike Tomlin, head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who worked alongside Gruden during their time in Tampa, expressed his feelings, stating, “It’s a disheartening situation for the Raiders organization. I’m sorry for those who were hurt by it. I’m sorry for coach Gruden. It’s a regrettable scenario. That’s all I want to comment on at this time.”
