Jack Del Rio didn’t mince words when he was asked about Jon Gruden and the emails that were revealed to show homophobic and misogynistic comments in conversations with former Washington Football Team president Bruce Allen and others.
Gruden replaced Del Rio as head coach with the then-Oakland Raiders before the start of the 2018 season. Del Rio is the last Raiders coach to get to the playoffs and is the only one to get to the postseason since the team lost the Super Bowl to the Gruden-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2002 season.
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Coach Jack Del Rio of the Jacksonville Jaguars meets coach Jon Gruden of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after play at Raymond James Stadium on Oct. 28, 2007, in Tampa, Florida. The Jaguars won 24-23.
(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Del Rio, now the defensive coordinator for Washington, characterized Gruden’s emails as “shocking” and “embarrassingly bad.”
“It was, I guess, shocking. Embarrassingly bad for a person in that position to have those kinds of thoughts and to express them like that. I don’t have much respect for it,” he said Thursday, via NBC Sports Washington.
Gruden’s email scandal cast a dark cloud over the Raiders this week. He resigned in the wake of The New York Times report about the emails.
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“I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone,” he said in a statement.
Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio of the Washington Football Team looks on during minicamp at Inova Sports Performance Center on June 8, 2021, in Ashburn, Virginia.
(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Gruden in at least one email, according to the Times, called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell an anti-gay slur and a “clueless anti-football p—y” and argued that Goodell shouldn’t have allegedly pressured then-St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher to draft “queers,” in reference to former NFL defensive lineman Michael Sam, who was the first openly gay player to be selected in the draft.
Head coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on from the sidelines against the Kansas City Chiefs during their NFL football game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Oct. 19, 2017, in Oakland, California.
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The email appeared to show a complete disconnect from Gruden’s messaging when his own player Carl Nassib came out as gay before the start of the 2021 season and became the first active openly gay NFL player.
The emails were reviewed as part of an NFL workplace investigation into the Washington Football Team. Gruden’s emails about Goodell were flagged in the investigation. Among them were disparaging remarks about NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith.
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Gruden was in the fourth year of a 10-year, $100 million contract. He was also removed from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor.
