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‘I Never Meant To Hurt Anyone’- Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden Issues Controversial Statement After Resigning
Jon Gruden stepped down as the head coach of Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, following an earlier report of racist statements about a union leader.
Mark Davis, the owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, stated that Gruden had accepted the resignation and in place of him, special team coordinator, Rich Bisaccia, would become the interim head coach of the team.
Jon Gruden apologizes for his derogatory remarks
“I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” Jon Gruden said on Twitter in a statement issued by the team. “I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.”
Gruden had casually used offensive and derogatory language, which was homophobic and misogynistic, for several years to criticize the people around the game or mock some of the league’s momentous changes.
“I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.”
Jon Gruden
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 12, 2021
He was against the practices of the league to draft homosexual players. He remained intolerant after the emergence of women as referees and players who protested during the National Anthem. This is in accordance to emails he sent to Bruce Allen, former president of the Washington Football Team, and others, while he was working for ESPN.
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Gruden smeared the league commissioner
Gruden called Roger Goodell, a litany of words that were certainly a poor choice. Goodell pressured Jeff Fisher, the then Rams coach, to draft “queers”, referring to Michael Sam, a homosexual player chosen by the team in 2014.
His sudden resignation came as a surprise. Being a Super Bowl winning coach and a marquee analyst on ESPN who had returned to the NFL in 2018 to lead the Raiders ended strangely, much to the chagrin of Raiders fans.
Oct 4, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden talks with quarterback Derek Carr (4) during the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Gruden’s derogatory and unethical language in the workplace became an issue that needed urgent solving. Issues like these have no place in an elite sports organisation like the NFL. While it earned some bad press, it seems this is an issue destined to work itself out with time. However, will the Raiders cope with this shocker? Is this where their downfall begins?
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