Marcus Hill
I cannot pretend I’m horrified about Jon Gruden’s situation. Disappointed? Eh, I’ve grown accustomed to this level of stupidity.
To those who aren't familiar, Gruden, the former head coach of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, resigned Monday after leaked emails revealed years of anti-LGBTQ, racist, misogynistic and other inappropriate language. The email leaks occurred as the NFL investigates the Washington Football Team (for the time being, yes, that’s their name) for allegations of a toxic work environment.
The crazy part is, Gruden discussed his disapproval of the St. Louis Rams (current day Los Angeles Rams) drafting a gay player, Michael Sam, in 2014.
Caleb Nassib, who the Cleveland Browns drafted in 2016, currently plays for the Raiders. Guess who came out earlier this year?
I couldn’t imagine dealing with someone talking out of both sides of their mouth.
However, that’s still not the most absurd piece to this story. The obliviousness Gruden displayed by sharing his beliefs via email is what baffles me.
I don’t like starting emails with the word, ‘Hey’ after I got chewed out years ago for doing so. I’ll sometimes put “haha” in there to spice it up. But I still ponder deleting it before I press send.
Gruden shared vile messages for years without consequences. If Gruden expressed those thoughts in an email, what’s he saying in private? More importantly, why did his employers never mention any of this? There's a paper trail dating back to 2010, so claiming ignorance won’t suffice.
As of this writing, no other coaches or higher ups have put their feet in their mouths. But, c’mon, Gruden isn’t the only guilty party here.
Exposing bigots like Gruden has become a game of Among Us; he’s not alone. There are plenty others who are sus.
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