Jeff Gordon: Gruden’s emails remind us why NFL struggled to evolve
Jeff Gordon, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Thanks to a trove of Jon Gruden’s offensive e-mails, the public got a look inside one of the NFL’s inner circles.
And what was seen isn’t pretty.
Reporting by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times shed light on Gruden’s character, or lack thereof. That work also provided a glimpse of how some movers and shakers of the pro football industry think and why the sport struggles with so many lingering issues.
Player relations have always been problematic in the NFL. The league has treated rank-and-file players as disposable. It downplayed its concussion crisis and failed to adequately aid former players in distress.
The league remained tone deaf to the social crises that prompted player protests. It was slow to respect the rights of those in the LGBTQ+ community. It shamelessly exploited its female cheerleaders and it was slow to allow women to advance in non-playing positions.
In missives exchanged with former Washington Football Team president Bruce Allen and others between 2011 and 2017, Gruden covered these topics and more.
He railed against the St. Louis Rams’ drafting of Michael Sam, the former Mizzou star who went on to become the first openly gay player to be drafted by an NFL team; the NFL’s efforts to curtail concussions; player demonstrations during the national anthem; and the employment of female officials.
He used homophobic slurs to describe NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. He used racist tropes to describe DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association.
“Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin (sic) tires” was one of Gruden’s deplorable quips.
These weren’t the opinions of some fringe caveman character. Gruden is one of the NFL’s highest-profile coaches — or at least he was until he resigned his post Monday with the Las Vegas Raiders with more than six years and $60 million left on his contract.
Between his head-coaching gigs, Gruden prospered as one of the sport’s brightest broadcast media stars. He starred for ESPN while firing off these damning emails to Allen and some associates on his personal account.
As the Times noted, “Taken together, the emails provide an unvarnished look into the clubby culture of one NFL circle of peers, where white male decision makers felt comfortable sharing pornographic images, deriding the league policies and jocularly sharing homophobic language.”
Gruden’s emails came to light after attorney Beth Wilkinson investigated the toxic work environment within the Washington Football Team franchise.
The NFL oversaw Wilkinson’s probe and fined team owner Dan Snyder $10 million after digesting her findings. But the league has thus far kept a lid on the specifics.
Attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represent more than 40 former Washington Football Team employees, joined Smith and the NFLPA in calling on the league to come clean.
“It is truly outrageous that after the NFL’s 10-month long investigation involving hundreds of witnesses and 650,000 documents related to the longtime culture of harassment and abuse at the Washington Football Team, the only person to be held accountable and lose their job is the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” they said in a written statement. “Our clients and the public at large deserve transparency and accountability. If not, the NFL and Roger Goodell must explain why they appear intent on protecting the Washington Football Team and owner Dan Snyder at all costs.”
Yeah, well, that’s how the NFL operates.
But it’s one thing to cover up the suspicious actions of the New England Patriots, who famously went to extremes to gain a competitive edge. That’s just typical PR to keep folks moving on to other topics.
It’s a much different thing to gloss over core problems with how this industry deals with its people, and others. The NFL almost never does the right thing until it absolutely has to.
One exception came when Jeff Fisher stepped up to the plate and let the Rams draft the openly gay Sam in 2014 after his fine college career at Missouri. The Rams handled that whole situation about as well as a team could under circumstances of the time. Fisher and Co. indulged the resulting media circus and gave Sam the opportunity to test his skills at the highest level.
This prompted Gruden to use various slurs to describe Goodell and bemoan the fact that Fisher was pressured into drafting “queers.”
The league was far less successful handling player protests. Many of the sport’s most prominent leaders, like Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, took public positions that did not age well. The NFL turned journeyman-caliber quarterback Colin Kaepernick into a prominent social activist who will stand as a historic figure in the fight for needed police reforms.
The league won’t handle this current scenario well either. It will make Gruden go away, making sure he doesn’t coach again or get another high-profile football media job.
The league will make Allen stay away, too. There is no chance he will land in another NFL front office.
The league will pretend that there is nothing else to see here, just a few rogue individuals who stepped out of line.
But once again you’ve seen behind the curtain. You have seen how some folks in that industry really think — and by now you can’t be terribly surprised.
QB Lamar Jackson dazzles as Ravens erase 16-point deficit to stun Colts in overtime, 31-25
Michael Conroy
How He Got Here: The No. 1 overall pick out of Clemson was immediately deemed the face and savior of the franchise.
How He's Doing: Lawrence has thrown for 873 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 57% of his passes for the 0-4 Jaguars. He had his most efficient game last week in a 24-17 loss at Cincinnati, going 17 of 24 for 204 yards. He had no touchdown throws, but ran for a score and also had his first interception-free performance.
What They're Saying: "You can look around and I'll take our guy any day in the rookie quarterbacks and how they're doing," Bevell said. "Trevor's progression has been great. He's doing a great job. He works his tail off. I think his communication with the players on the team and the guys in the offense, communication during the game, all those things he's just really doing a nice job with it and his play's getting better and better."
Michael Conroy
How He Got Here: The No. 1 overall pick out of Clemson was immediately deemed the face and savior of the franchise.
How He's Doing: Lawrence has thrown for 873 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 57% of his passes for the 0-4 Jaguars. He had his most efficient game last week in a 24-17 loss at Cincinnati, going 17 of 24 for 204 yards. He had no touchdown throws, but ran for a score and also had his first interception-free performance.
What They're Saying: "You can look around and I'll take our guy any day in the rookie quarterbacks and how they're doing," Bevell said. "Trevor's progression has been great. He's doing a great job. He works his tail off. I think his communication with the players on the team and the guys in the offense, communication during the game, all those things he's just really doing a nice job with it and his play's getting better and better."
QB Lamar Jackson dazzles as Ravens erase 16-point deficit to stun Colts in overtime, 31-25
Seth Wenig
How He Got Here: The Jets zeroed in on him with the No. 2 overall pick early in the pre-draft process, enthralled by his arm strength and ability to make plays on the run and from multiple arm angles.
How He's Doing: The former BYU star had a solid debut with two TD passes and an INT, followed by a miserable performance against New England (no TDs, four INTs, 37.0 quarterback rating) and a lousy game at Denver (no TDs, two more INTs and a season-low 54.3 completion percentage). Wilson, sacked 15 times in three games, bounced back with his best game, going 21 of 34 for 297 yards — including passes of 54 and 53 yards — and two TDs with one INT and one sack in the Jets' first win of the season, 27-24 in OT over Tennessee.
What They're Saying: "What he's still adjusting to is just when it goes a little bit off schedule and the pocket collapses and he has to go, just with how fast NFL defenses and defenders move, what he can get away with and what he can't," offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. "And that's been something that he's been working through since, really, rookie minicamp."
Seth Wenig
How He Got Here: The Jets zeroed in on him with the No. 2 overall pick early in the pre-draft process, enthralled by his arm strength and ability to make plays on the run and from multiple arm angles.
How He's Doing: The former BYU star had a solid debut with two TD passes and an INT, followed by a miserable performance against New England (no TDs, four INTs, 37.0 quarterback rating) and a lousy game at Denver (no TDs, two more INTs and a season-low 54.3 completion percentage). Wilson, sacked 15 times in three games, bounced back with his best game, going 21 of 34 for 297 yards — including passes of 54 and 53 yards — and two TDs with one INT and one sack in the Jets' first win of the season, 27-24 in OT over Tennessee.
What They're Saying: "What he's still adjusting to is just when it goes a little bit off schedule and the pocket collapses and he has to go, just with how fast NFL defenses and defenders move, what he can get away with and what he can't," offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. "And that's been something that he's been working through since, really, rookie minicamp."
QB Lamar Jackson dazzles as Ravens erase 16-point deficit to stun Colts in overtime, 31-25
Tony Avelar
How He Got Here: The 49ers traded up and took Lance out of North Dakota State when many assumed they were going to take Jones. He began the season as the backup to Jimmy Garoppolo.
How He's Doing: Lance played just seven snaps through the first three games, throwing a TD pass and running for another score. He got his most extensive action last week when Garoppolo left at halftime with a right calf injury. Lance struggled with his accuracy, but finished 9 of 18 for 157 yards, two touchdowns, a 2-point conversion run and 41 yards rushing. He'll start Sunday for 2-2 San Francisco against Arizona.
What They're Saying: "He'll see some things out there that he's never seen before," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "But what you like about him and stuff that he might not be ready for, he can overcompensate with some of his athletic ability and, to me, how competitive he is and how good of a football player he is."
Tony Avelar
How He Got Here: The 49ers traded up and took Lance out of North Dakota State when many assumed they were going to take Jones. He began the season as the backup to Jimmy Garoppolo.
How He's Doing: Lance played just seven snaps through the first three games, throwing a TD pass and running for another score. He got his most extensive action last week when Garoppolo left at halftime with a right calf injury. Lance struggled with his accuracy, but finished 9 of 18 for 157 yards, two touchdowns, a 2-point conversion run and 41 yards rushing. He'll start Sunday for 2-2 San Francisco against Arizona.
What They're Saying: "He'll see some things out there that he's never seen before," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "But what you like about him and stuff that he might not be ready for, he can overcompensate with some of his athletic ability and, to me, how competitive he is and how good of a football player he is."
QB Lamar Jackson dazzles as Ravens erase 16-point deficit to stun Colts in overtime, 31-25
Nam Y. Huh
How He Got Here: The No. 11 overall pick out of Ohio State entered the season as the backup to Andy Dalton, despite many Bears fans clamoring to see the rookie right away.
How He's Doing: Fields threw two passes and ran for a score in the opener in spot duty. He replaced an injured Dalton the next week against Cincinnati, then started the next two games with Dalton sidelined. Fields is still looking for his first TD pass and has to improve on his 48.1 completion percentage, but coach Matt Nagy committed this week to him starting moving forward for the 2-2 Bears.
What They're Saying: "The stage for him never gets too big," Nagy said. "He has been in this position before. I think when you have somebody like that who understands how he has gotten to this point and knows that he's worked hard to get to this point, that he's ready for this opportunity."
Nam Y. Huh
How He Got Here: The No. 11 overall pick out of Ohio State entered the season as the backup to Andy Dalton, despite many Bears fans clamoring to see the rookie right away.
How He's Doing: Fields threw two passes and ran for a score in the opener in spot duty. He replaced an injured Dalton the next week against Cincinnati, then started the next two games with Dalton sidelined. Fields is still looking for his first TD pass and has to improve on his 48.1 completion percentage, but coach Matt Nagy committed this week to him starting moving forward for the 2-2 Bears.
What They're Saying: "The stage for him never gets too big," Nagy said. "He has been in this position before. I think when you have somebody like that who understands how he has gotten to this point and knows that he's worked hard to get to this point, that he's ready for this opportunity."
QB Lamar Jackson dazzles as Ravens erase 16-point deficit to stun Colts in overtime, 31-25
Elise Amendola
How He Got Here: The Patriots took Jones out of Alabama at No. 15 overall, making him the first quarterback drafted in the opening round by New England since Bledsoe in 1993. He beat out Cam Newton in training camp and became the first rookie QB to start Week 1 for the Patriots, also since Bledsoe.
How He's Doing: Jones' numbers aren't eye popping for the 1-3 Patriots with four TDs and four INTs, but he has been extremely efficient while completing 70% of his passes in what has been a mostly short-passing game offense. He threw for 275 yards and had 19 consecutive completions — the most for an NFL rookie since 1991, and tying the franchise record set by Brady in 2015 — last week in a 19-17 loss to Brady and Tampa Bay.
What They're Saying: "He's certainly responded to anything we've asked him to do," offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "He's obviously got a great mindset and great attitude about it. There's nothing we've asked him to do that he's shied away from or wanted less responsibility. That's not his nature or personality. I appreciate that in the young man."
Elise Amendola
How He Got Here: The Patriots took Jones out of Alabama at No. 15 overall, making him the first quarterback drafted in the opening round by New England since Bledsoe in 1993. He beat out Cam Newton in training camp and became the first rookie QB to start Week 1 for the Patriots, also since Bledsoe.
How He's Doing: Jones' numbers aren't eye popping for the 1-3 Patriots with four TDs and four INTs, but he has been extremely efficient while completing 70% of his passes in what has been a mostly short-passing game offense. He threw for 275 yards and had 19 consecutive completions — the most for an NFL rookie since 1991, and tying the franchise record set by Brady in 2015 — last week in a 19-17 loss to Brady and Tampa Bay.
What They're Saying: "He's certainly responded to anything we've asked him to do," offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "He's obviously got a great mindset and great attitude about it. There's nothing we've asked him to do that he's shied away from or wanted less responsibility. That's not his nature or personality. I appreciate that in the young man."
QB Lamar Jackson dazzles as Ravens erase 16-point deficit to stun Colts in overtime, 31-25
Adrian Kraus
How He Got Here: The former Stanford star was drafted in the third round and wasn't expected to be much more than a backup this season — and maybe beyond. But with a hamstring injury to Tyrod Taylor and the Texans sitting Deshaun Watson during a contract dispute and legal troubles, Mills is the man under center for now.
How He's Doing: Well, he's struggling. He has thrown for 357 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions in his 2 1/2 games. He tied a franchise record with four INTs last week against Buffalo and his 23.4 quarterback rating is the worst of any starter this season. He'll likely return to the sideline for the 0-4 Texans as soon as Taylor's healthy.
What They're Saying: "Ball security, understanding that your job is to protect the ball and when you go back to pass, an incompletion is OK if the guy is not there, you don't have to make a play," coach David Culley said of what he's looking for from Mills this week. "Again, that's from being inexperienced and being young, but at this point right now moving forward as our quarterback, that's something that he has to get better at quicker and faster."
Adrian Kraus
How He Got Here: The former Stanford star was drafted in the third round and wasn't expected to be much more than a backup this season — and maybe beyond. But with a hamstring injury to Tyrod Taylor and the Texans sitting Deshaun Watson during a contract dispute and legal troubles, Mills is the man under center for now.
How He's Doing: Well, he's struggling. He has thrown for 357 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions in his 2 1/2 games. He tied a franchise record with four INTs last week against Buffalo and his 23.4 quarterback rating is the worst of any starter this season. He'll likely return to the sideline for the 0-4 Texans as soon as Taylor's healthy.
What They're Saying: "Ball security, understanding that your job is to protect the ball and when you go back to pass, an incompletion is OK if the guy is not there, you don't have to make a play," coach David Culley said of what he's looking for from Mills this week. "Again, that's from being inexperienced and being young, but at this point right now moving forward as our quarterback, that's something that he has to get better at quicker and faster."
Jeff Gordon: Gruden’s emails remind us why NFL struggled to evolve
Rick Scuteri
FILE - Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden attends a news conference after an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Las Vegas, in this Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, file photo. Jon Gruden is out as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after emails he sent before being hired in 2018 contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments. Gruden released a statement Monday night, Oct. 11, 2021, that he is stepping down after The New York Times reported that Gruden frequently used misogynistic and homophobic language directed at Commissioner Roger Goodell and others in the NFL.
Rick Scuteri
FILE - Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden attends a news conference after an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Las Vegas, in this Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, file photo. Jon Gruden is out as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after emails he sent before being hired in 2018 contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments. Gruden released a statement Monday night, Oct. 11, 2021, that he is stepping down after The New York Times reported that Gruden frequently used misogynistic and homophobic language directed at Commissioner Roger Goodell and others in the NFL.
