In light of a legal victory for former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden, what’s next for the league and its commissioner, Roger Goodell?
In a 5-2 ruling Monday, Nevada Supreme Court Justices ruled that the NFL’s attempt to enforce an arbitration clause on a former employee was “unconscionable and doesn’t apply to Jon Gruden as a former employee.”
Gruden, a two-time former head coach of the Raiders, has positioned himself as a notable adversary to the National Football League. Relishing the opportunity to legally hand Commissioner Roger Goodell his a**. On the other hand, Gruden’s legal team can take advantage of the league’s need to prevent significant negativity from becoming public during the discovery phase by proposing a settlement for a substantial, undisclosed amount of money.
In either case, Gruden is approaching a completely unprecedented situation by suing the league for his firing, which he attributes to “leaked emails” from the 2021 season. In this context, he referred to the then-head of the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith, as “having lips the size of Michelin tires.” Furthermore, he directed his general homophobic comments towards Goodell. Generally, making some repugnant remarks concerning just about every protected class there is.
Pro Football Talk: How Jon Gruden’s Lawsuit Will Affect The NFL
Raiders vs. The World
If you recall, former Raiders owner Al Davis sued the NFL six times. However, even he was nowhere near as close to unearthing the amount of dirty laundry in those 650,000 emails. Through the power of NDAs and arbitration with the commissioner, the NFL has been able to conceal all of its nefarious activities. Be it Pete Rozelle or all the way to Roger Goodell. But all that is subject to change.
The league may appeal Gruden’s case to the Supreme Court, but they are not required to hear it. If the court takes the case, it may rule to return it to arbitration. Recently, justices have been vulnerable to bribery and costly undisclosed gifts from corporations.
Especially just before upcoming cases reach the Supreme Court docket, the situation becomes precarious. Ultimately, the NFL has a figurative graveyard where all occupants must remain undisturbed. Gruden’s lawsuit could serve as the proverbial opening of Pandora’s Box.
Plot Twists
Interestingly, Gruden was a naive victim. Among the 650,000 emails pertaining to the Washington Football Team, the NFL identified only Jon Gruden as a potential scapegoat, whose exit could potentially accomplish multiple objectives. The setup and smear campaign garnered little attention.
The NFL had done its best to silence and forget about the Wilkinson Report of Washington Football Team workplace misconduct in an attempt to protect both owner Dan Snyder and the league as a whole. However, the demand for the truth remained unwavering.
When the Wall Street Journal published Gruden’s emails (specifically the ones concerning DeMaurice Smith), the NFLPA was at a point where they may have been considering a break from Smith’s leadership. Some reports indicated that Smith lacked the necessary votes to continue as head of the players’ union. After Gruden’s transgressions came to light, Smith was able to gain the necessary votes to continue as the head of the NFLPA.
Again. No one is advocating for poor Gruden; he said what he said and now he has to stand on it. He’s bounced back and continued to reinvent himself and find different ways to stay close to the spotlight and the game.
Gruden is just a few days away from his 62nd birthday, with years of his coaching career seemingly lost due to what he views as a hatchet job. Despite the severity of the comments directed at him, he chose to step down. He resigned with a sense of vengeance building within him. His spirit seems eager to confront the NFL, pushing the league and Commissioner Goodell to face him.
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*Top Photo: Associated Press/Rick Scuteri