It has been been nearly one year since Jon Gruden resigned as Raiders coach after The New York Times reported that Gruden used racist, homophobic and sexist language in a series of emails to team and league officials from 2010-18 while he was working for ESPN.
Gruden addressed the issue Tuesday during an appearance at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Arkansas. He called his offensive remarks “shameful” in a show of remorse. He also said he is seeking “forgiveness” for his “mistakes” and hopes he gets “another shot” at coaching.
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From Gruden’s comments:
I’m ashamed about what has come about in those emails and I’ll make no excuses for it. It’s shameful. But, I am a good person. I believe that. I go to church, I’ve been married for 31 years, and have three great boys. I still love football. I made some mistakes, but I don’t think anybody in here hasn’t. I just ask for forgiveness and hopefully, I get another shot.
Jon Gruden at the Little Rock Touchdown club commenting on the emails that ended his NFL coaching career. pic.twitter.com/1ClcWtdTRn
— Steve Sullivan (@sully7777) August 30, 2022
Gruden, 59, is suing the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell over the release of the emails. He claims that the league leaked them to get him fired from the Raiders. A judge in May denied the league’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, setting the stage for a potential lengthy legal proceeding.
Sources told The Athletic’s Vic Tafur that Gruden did not seem inclined to settle out of court.
“People close to Gruden think that he might want to have his day in court,” Tafur wrote back in June. “He has plenty of money from his broadcasting, Raiders and sponsorship deals and may value putting Goodell on trial more than any dollar figure.”
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