Jon Gruden’s job was never in jeopardy after his racist comment

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden will not face immediate consequences for a recently-resurfaced email of his that involved racist imagery. 

Jon Gruden made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week as the author of a leaked 2011 email containing racist tropes and imagery.

Despite this, it seems the NFL won’t be punishing Gruden immediately, or perhaps even at all.

According to a CBS Sports report, “no discipline is imminent, according to team and league sources, and Gruden is set to coach the team this weekend.”

Here’s more from the report, which relies on information from various sources close to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

"“Some close to Commissioner Roger Goodell believe that ultimately a hefty fine and further diversity and inclusion training will be forthcoming, with a suspension less likely, based on the numerous mitigating circumstances. But they also suggested that there are not many comparable situations to this, and that other evidence could necessarily lead to a more intense punishment.”"

Jon Gruden may not face punishment as a result of leaked email with racist implications

The unique mitigating circumstances make judging Gruden’s case difficult. There is no precedent for this situation, as Gruden was not a team or league employee when the email was written in 2011. The email came from a personal email account, and Gruden himself insists that his derogatory comment about NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith’s lips — who is Black — was not racial in nature, even if that’s impossible to understand.

The Raiders only became aware of the situation on Friday, when they released an official statement calling the contents of Gruden’s email “disturbing.”

Gruden’s email resurfaced at this time due to an ongoing investigation of the toxic workplace culture of the Washington Football Team. During that process, the league combed through emails addressed to Bruce Allen, who was then the president of the Washington Football Team.

Gruden emailed Allen criticizing Smith during the 2011 NFL lockout.

Gruden, who was then a commentator for ESPN, explained his language in those 2011 emails.

“I was in a bad frame of mind at the time [in 2011], and I called Roger Goodell a [expletive] in one of these emails too,” Gruden told ESPN. “They were keeping players and coaches from doing what they love with a lockout.”

The 2011 NFL lockout fought for NFL players to have a larger share in revenue of NFL games, as well as more health and safety protocols to protect players.