Court gives former Raiders coach Jon Gruden a boost in lawsuit over ‘leaked’ NFL emails | NFL
Former coach of Las Vegas Raiders, Jon Gruden, recorded a victory over the NFL on Monday in court.
The Supreme Court of Nevada, in a 5-2 decision, decided that the Gruden trial against the League can continue before the civil court rather than being settled during an arbitration hearing to which the NFL could designate the arbitrator.
The decision supported the assertion of the Gruden legal team that the NFL arbitration process did not apply to Gruden because he was not an employee of the League when he wrote emails who are at the heart of his trial. Gruden also argued that Commissioner Roger Goodell should not be allowed to select an arbitrator when he left for the dispute.
Gruden’s lawyer Adam Hosmer-Henner said in a statement: “We are very satisfied with the decision of the Supreme Nevada Court, not only for the Gruden coach, but for all the employees confronted with a flavored arbitration process of the employer.
The NFL, which could appeal the decision on Monday at the United States Supreme Court, has not publicly responded to the decision.
The Gruden trial alleges that the NFL has disclosed emails from him, including the racist, homophobic and sexist language. The emails were sent in the 2010s when Gruden worked as an ESPN analyst and not employed by an NFL team.
The leaks took place after the NFL found the emails as part of a separate investigation in the Washington football team in 2021, when Gruden led the raiders. Once the emails were made public, Gruden resigned from his post as coach of Las Vegas in October 2021.
He continued the League a month later, arguing that “thanks to 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 Raiders of Las Vegas.”
