The former coach of the Las Vegas Raiders has sued the NFL and its commissioner after racist emails he sent were published, prompting his resignation last month. Jon Gruden alleged via his attorney that the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell “selectively leaked Gruden’s private correspondence to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times in order to harm Gruden’s reputation and force him out of his job.” The former coach used virulently racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language in correspondence that spanned seven years. Gruden’s complaint said there was “no explanation or justification” why his emails were the only ones of a reported 650,000 collected in the league’s investigation of the Washington Football Team. An NFL spokesman called the allegations “entirely meritless” and said the league looked forward to defending itself.
