NFL: Jon Gruden addresses email scandal for the first time, calling messages ‘shameful’

Ex-Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden spoke publicly for the first time about the email scandal that saw him lose his job last fall.

Speaking at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Arkansas on Tuesday, Gruden admitted his faults in the incident while hoping for another chance.

This is all happening as Gruden filed a lawsuit against the NFL, alleging they singled him out.

‘I’m ashamed about what has come about in these emails, and I’ll make no excuses for it,’ Gruden said. 

‘It’s shameful. But, I am a good person. I believe that. I go to church. I’ve been married for 31 years. I’ve got three great boys. 

The release of a number of emails led to Gruden resigning as head coach of the Raiders

‘I still love football. I’ve made some mistakes. But I don’t think anybody in here hasn’t. And I just ask for forgiveness and, hopefully, I get another shot.’ 

The e-mails Gruden sent contained racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language and were released in two separate reports from the Wall Street Journal on October 8 and the New York Times on October 11.

Following the publication of the second report, Gruden resigned.

‘I get a choked up, you know, because there’s a lot of misunderstanding out there right now,’ Gruden told those present in Little Rock Tuesday. 

‘What you read, what you hear, what you watch on TV. Hell, I worked at ESPN for nine years. I worked hard at that job. 

‘I don’t even want to watch the channel anymore because I don’t believe everything is true. And I know a lot of it is just trying to get people to watch. But I think we’ve got to get back to reality.’ 

The emails were sent while Gruden worked for ESPN, where he was an analyst for NFL games

Following his resignation, Gruden sued the NFL claiming they ruined his reputation

The e-mails were all released as part of an investigation by the league into workplace conditions within the team now known as the Washington Commanders.

Gruden later filed a lawsuit against the NFL, accusing the league of a ‘Soviet-style character assassination.’

‘The complaint alleges that the defendants selectively leaked Gruden’s private correspondence to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times in order to harm Gruden’s reputation and force him out of his job,’ Gruden’s attorney, Adam Hosmer-Henner, said in a statement.

‘There is no explanation or justification for why Gruden’s emails were the only ones made public out of the 650,000 emails collected in the NFL’s investigation of the Washington Football Team or for why the emails were held for months before being released in the middle of the Raiders’ season.’

In a statement released to DailyMail.com in response to the suit, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy called Gruden’s allegations ‘entirely meritless’ and said the league would ‘vigorously defend against these claims.’ 

As a result of the hostile workplace investigation into the WFT that ended in July, the club was fined $10million Snyder agreed to cede day-to-day control of the franchise to his wife, Tanya.

Back in May, a Nevada judge denied the NFL’s motion to compel arbitration and to dismiss the case, which could lead to a jury trial.

It’s not known if Gruden will coach again, but he hopes he can get a second chance in the NFL