Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden has scored a key victory in his ongoing lawsuit against the league and commissioner Roger Goodell. As relayed by ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr., the Nevada Supreme Court rejected the league’s petition seeking a rehearing of the court’s August decision that the league could not force Gruden into arbitration.
Gruden, 62, filed his suit in 2021, after he resigned as the Raiders’ head coach following a leak of emails containing racist, sexist, and anti-gay comments he sent when he was an on-air analyst for ESPN from 2011-18. He alleges the NFL selectively leaked those emails to force him out of the league, thereby sabotaging his coaching career and endorsement contracts.
When we last wrote about Gruden’s legal battle in July 2024, he had just lost a hearing conducted by the Nevada Supreme Court’s three-judge panel, which determined that the NFL could, in fact, remove Gruden’s case from the public forum of a state courtroom into the league-friendly arbitration setting (in which Goodell himself could serve as the arbitrator).
However, Gruden was ultimately successful in securing a rehearing in front of the court’s full seven-judge panel, which held in a 5-2 decision that the league’s efforts to force a claim against the league filed by a former employee into arbitration proceedings overseen by the league commissioner (and named defendant) was “unconscionable.”
The seven judges were unanimous in their denial of the NFL’s request for a rehearing, and now the league’s only recourse in its quest for arbitration is to note an appeal to the United States Supreme Court. Although the NFL has declined to comment on the matter, Van Natta’s sources have said such an attempt is unlikely.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk details the difficulty that an appealing party in any case has in convincing the nation’s highest court to hear their appeal, and he also observes that Gruden has gained a tremendous amount of leverage. The NFL could try to make Gruden a settlement offer he cannot refuse in order to make the case go away, but Gruden has previously promised to “burn the house down” in pursuing this action.
In other words, he may rebuff any offer the league makes as he seeks to uncover the party or parties who leaked the emails.
“I’m looking forward to having the truth come out and I want to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Gruden told ESPN. “What happened wasn’t right, and I’m glad the court didn’t let the NFL cover it up.”
Gruden has gotten back into league circles to some extent. In 2023, he worked as a consultant with the Saints, and he was seen doing work for the Chiefs in the 2024 offseason. It was reported last December that he could garner some NFL coaching interest in the 2025 cycle, but he did not land an interview.
Hard to see Gruden as a “victim” because the things he said were made public. Don’t email racist, sexist, and anti-gay comments, then you can’t be victimized by them later. His only real defense would be that it wasn’t me and my email was hacked by white nationalists.
John Gruden said things his employer does not align with.
Jimmy Kimmel said things his employer does not align with.
Which one is okay? The outcomes do not seem to be the same.
Holy false equivalency. The “outcomes do not seem to be the same” because they’re completely different situations that have literally nothing to do with each other.
Or his defense is that the nfl allowed those sort of comments from many people and selectively picked his to play out in front of the public. If the culture of the nfl was toxic and it cherry picked who it wants to punish then that is something we should all want to come to light so the whole system can be cleaned out.
Is that you again Dan Snyder ?
Is that his ESPN badge photo?
Gruden did this to himself yet because he has money, he sues….ridiculous
No matter what happens, the popcorn will be out. If this court battle continues, we’ll all be entertained.
The nfl did this to itself. It can’t encourage a guys club culture and then cherry pick who’s life it wants to ruin for engaging in its culture. Anyone who cares about seeing real change should be happy to see this happening because it’s going to expose the underbelly of the NFL and force real change.
I wouldn’t say he necessarily did it to himself. He emailed some dumb stuff for sure. However, someone also purposely found it and leaked it with intentions….Sounds like more than 1 party is involved no?
OK, Roger Goodell. Let’s give Jon his day in court, let the facts come out. His argument is not the contents of the emails but how the emails were “leaked” to the media.
Goodell: “If we allow you coach in our exciting new flag football league, would that be enough to get the legal action dropped Chucky?”