The NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell asked a Nevada court Wednesday to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Jon Gruden, saying that the league did not leak the emails that led to Gruden’s resignation in October as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and arguing that Gruden “has no one to blame but himself” for any damage that he incurred.
The league, in its written response to the suit that Gruden filed in November in the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, Nev., also said that Gruden “primarily assumed the risk” that his emails could be “possessed and distributed” by the Washington Football Team, among others.
“Despite the clear risk that his emails would be forwarded, downloaded, printed, or otherwise monitored by any recipient workplace domain ... Gruden proceeded to send profane, misogynistic, homophobic, and racist emails out to a group of individuals, including to a WFT-hosted email address,” the NFL’s attorneys wrote. “As such, Gruden primarily assumed the risk that his emails could be circulated beyond the original recipient group, and possessed and distributed by the WFT, NFL and others.”
The NFL said that it did not leak the emails.
“To be sure, the NFL and the Commissioner did not leak Gruden’s emails,” the league wrote.
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Tanya Snyder, the co-CEO of the Washington Football Team who has been in control of the franchise’s daily operations since July, told fellow NFL owners during a league meeting in New York in October that the leaks did not originate with her or her husband, Daniel Snyder, the franchise’s principal owner, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.
The team’s ownership did not respond Wednesday night to a request for comment.
The NFL asked the Nevada court to dismiss Gruden’s lawsuit “in its entirety with prejudice.” In a separate motion, the league asked the court to compel Gruden to settle his dispute with the NFL in arbitration.
“The Complaint — a baseless attempt by Jon Gruden to blame the NFL and its Commissioner for the fallout from the publication of racist, misogynistic and homophobic emails that Gruden wrote and broadly circulated — should be dismissed for failure to state a single viable cause of action,” the league wrote.
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Gruden’s lawsuit accused the NFL and Goodell of using leaked emails to “publicly sabotage Gruden’s career” and pressure him into resigning from his job.
“Through a malicious and orchestrated campaign, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell sought to destroy the career and reputation of Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” Gruden’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit, adding that the league and Goodell attempted “a Soviet-style character assassination” against Gruden.
Gruden resigned Oct. 11 following reports that he used racist, homophobic and misogynistic language in emails over a span of approximately seven years before he agreed to return to the NFL in 2018 as coach of the Raiders. The emails were sent to Bruce Allen, the former president of the Washington Football Team, and others while Gruden worked for ESPN. The emails were gathered as part of the NFL’s investigation, overseen by attorney Beth Wilkinson, into the Washington Football Team’s workplace.
“In sum, to the extent that Jon Gruden suffered any damage, he has no one to blame but himself,” the league wrote to the Nevada court in Wednesday’s motion. “For the reasons set forth above and in detail below, the Complaint should be dismissed in its entirety.”
The NFL previously had said that it did not publicly release any of the emails.
“Gruden’s emails ultimately came to the NFL’s attention in connection with its investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct at the WFT,” the league wrote Wednesday. “Gruden alleges that somehow his earlier emails — distributed across the internet for years without any expectation of privacy to multiple parties, including to the president of the WFT at his work email account — became ‘confidential’ because they were collected as part of the WFT investigation.”
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The league wrote that Gruden does not dispute the authenticity of the emails but is “painting himself as the victim in a fictional story and seeking money through baseless claims against the NFL.” The league’s attorneys wrote that the content of Gruden’s emails becoming public “was unequivocally against the NFL’s best interests.”
The NFL challenged the legal basis of Gruden’s claims, arguing that Gruden cannot contend to have been “harmed by the truth.” The league wrote that if the NFL had sought to have Gruden fired, it would not have had to resort to leaked emails because the league “had the right to cancel Gruden’s contract” for conduct detrimental to the league.
“The NFL had every interest in the Raiders’ success and their ability to continue to generate positive fan response in Las Vegas and positive press for the League,” the NFL wrote. “Against this backdrop, Gruden’s emails were released. The emails not only dampened the NFL’s historic season, but also stood in stark contrast with the significant progress the League had made in recent years on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and resulted in negative media coverage for the League.”
The NFL has not wavered on its refusal to publicly release materials from the investigation into the Washington Football Team. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has requested documents and information from the league related to the investigation.
The league, in its written response to the suit that Gruden filed in November in the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, Nev., also said that Gruden “primarily assumed the risk” that his emails could be “possessed and distributed” by the Washington Football Team, among others.
“Despite the clear risk that his emails would be forwarded, downloaded, printed, or otherwise monitored by any recipient workplace domain ... Gruden proceeded to send profane, misogynistic, homophobic, and racist emails out to a group of individuals, including to a WFT-hosted email address,” the NFL’s attorneys wrote. “As such, Gruden primarily assumed the risk that his emails could be circulated beyond the original recipient group, and possessed and distributed by the WFT, NFL and others.”
The NFL said that it did not leak the emails.
“To be sure, the NFL and the Commissioner did not leak Gruden’s emails,” the league wrote.
Former Raiders coach Jon Gruden files lawsuit against NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell
Tanya Snyder, the co-CEO of the Washington Football Team who has been in control of the franchise’s daily operations since July, told fellow NFL owners during a league meeting in New York in October that the leaks did not originate with her or her husband, Daniel Snyder, the franchise’s principal owner, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.
The team’s ownership did not respond Wednesday night to a request for comment.
The NFL asked the Nevada court to dismiss Gruden’s lawsuit “in its entirety with prejudice.” In a separate motion, the league asked the court to compel Gruden to settle his dispute with the NFL in arbitration.
“The Complaint — a baseless attempt by Jon Gruden to blame the NFL and its Commissioner for the fallout from the publication of racist, misogynistic and homophobic emails that Gruden wrote and broadly circulated — should be dismissed for failure to state a single viable cause of action,” the league wrote.
As scrutiny over leaked emails rises, Tanya Snyder tells owners the WFT was not the source
Gruden’s lawsuit accused the NFL and Goodell of using leaked emails to “publicly sabotage Gruden’s career” and pressure him into resigning from his job.
“Through a malicious and orchestrated campaign, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell sought to destroy the career and reputation of Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” Gruden’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit, adding that the league and Goodell attempted “a Soviet-style character assassination” against Gruden.
Gruden resigned Oct. 11 following reports that he used racist, homophobic and misogynistic language in emails over a span of approximately seven years before he agreed to return to the NFL in 2018 as coach of the Raiders. The emails were sent to Bruce Allen, the former president of the Washington Football Team, and others while Gruden worked for ESPN. The emails were gathered as part of the NFL’s investigation, overseen by attorney Beth Wilkinson, into the Washington Football Team’s workplace.
“In sum, to the extent that Jon Gruden suffered any damage, he has no one to blame but himself,” the league wrote to the Nevada court in Wednesday’s motion. “For the reasons set forth above and in detail below, the Complaint should be dismissed in its entirety.”
The NFL previously had said that it did not publicly release any of the emails.
“Gruden’s emails ultimately came to the NFL’s attention in connection with its investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct at the WFT,” the league wrote Wednesday. “Gruden alleges that somehow his earlier emails — distributed across the internet for years without any expectation of privacy to multiple parties, including to the president of the WFT at his work email account — became ‘confidential’ because they were collected as part of the WFT investigation.”
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The league wrote that Gruden does not dispute the authenticity of the emails but is “painting himself as the victim in a fictional story and seeking money through baseless claims against the NFL.” The league’s attorneys wrote that the content of Gruden’s emails becoming public “was unequivocally against the NFL’s best interests.”
The NFL challenged the legal basis of Gruden’s claims, arguing that Gruden cannot contend to have been “harmed by the truth.” The league wrote that if the NFL had sought to have Gruden fired, it would not have had to resort to leaked emails because the league “had the right to cancel Gruden’s contract” for conduct detrimental to the league.
“The NFL had every interest in the Raiders’ success and their ability to continue to generate positive fan response in Las Vegas and positive press for the League,” the NFL wrote. “Against this backdrop, Gruden’s emails were released. The emails not only dampened the NFL’s historic season, but also stood in stark contrast with the significant progress the League had made in recent years on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and resulted in negative media coverage for the League.”
The NFL has not wavered on its refusal to publicly release materials from the investigation into the Washington Football Team. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has requested documents and information from the league related to the investigation.
