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Jon Gruden

Keyshawn Johnson calls former coach Jon Gruden 'fraud' and 'used car salesman'

Keyshawn Johnson did not hold back on the topic of Jon Gruden during Tuesday morning's "Keyshawn, JWill & Max" ESPN radio show, calling his one-time coach a "fraud" and "used car salesman." 

Gruden, who resigned as Las Vegas Raiders coach Monday night after more racist, homophobic and misogynistic emails were uncovered by the New York Times, coached Johnson with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. 

"I didn't know that Jon would say things like that and put them in an email," Johnson began. "He's just always been a fraud to me." 

Johnson told a story of Gruden taking the Lombardi Trophy from then-Buccaneers general manager Rich McKay after Tampa Bay won Super Bowl XXXVII. 

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"From day one, he's been a used car salesman," said Johnson, the former NFL wide receiver. "And people bought it because he inherited a championship team built by (former coach) Tony Dungy and Rich McKay, and he came in there with a little bit of different energy than we had with Tony, and it kind of kicked us over the top to get our world championship, which I am grateful for. But at the same time, I also saw through who he was through that journey of getting a championship."

Keyshawn Johnson has called Jon Gruden a "fraud" and compared him to a used car salesman.

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal first reported an email from 2011 in which Gruden used his personal email to correspond with former Washington Football Team executive Bruce Allen, his longtime friend, to disparage players' union executive director DeMaurice Smith with a racial trope. 

The emails were uncovered as part of the NFL's investigation into the toxic workplace culture within the Washington organization.

Johnson was traded after the 2003 season to the Dallas Cowboys. 

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

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