Days after news broke of Raiders head coach Jon Gruden’s reported use of a racist trope to describe NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, The New York Times dropped the hammer on him by sharing more emails from Gruden that show a pattern of offensive and inappropriate language.
Soon after, Gruden reportedly informed the Raiders of his plans to resign, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
In reviewing more than 650,000 emails sent over the past decade while investigating the Washington Football Team, the NFL has reportedly found numerous examples of Gruden using misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ comments, according to Ken Belson and Katherine Rosman of The New York Times.
Among the many people who have had opinions on the matter was Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers who acknowledged the Gruden situation on The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday.
“Those opinions don’t have a place in the game … that shit doesn’t fly,” Rodgers told McAfee, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.
You can check out Rodgers’ full conversation with McAfee below:
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McAfee, a former NFL punter, also had his thoughts on the Gruden situation.
“You can’t just plead ignorance, you can’t just say ‘I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.’ Because it’s very evident that if you’re willing to put it on record and type it down, you’re probably using it everyday…” McAfee said. “… I just think it’s an evolution. We’re always going to have hateful assholes. I hate that it’s gonna happen, but the reality is this is going to happen… As the years go on, hopefully we become and pioneer this road to a tolerant society of understanding. As we continue to do that, we’re going to learn about people that aren’t necessarily on the same ideals of the future. We can’t let them bring out the worst in everybody…”
Among the findings, Gruden reportedly expressed his disapproval of the NFL’s hiring of women as referees, drafting gay players and tolerating players who protested during the playing of the national anthem. He also criticized commissioner Roger Goodell for placing an emphasis on player safety, referring to him by an anti-LGBTQ slur and calling him a “clueless anti football p—-.”
