Jon Gruden: The Tip Of The NFL Racist Iceberg
– By Ed Kociela –
I have been a fan of the Raiders for many, many years
Whether they were located in Oakland, Los Angeles, back in Oakland or, as of now, calling Las Vegas home, I have weathered many storms with the team, from players who had continuous run-ins with the law to others who had a certain Damon Runyon style character and charm.
Through thick and thin, through some of the most unlikely and bizarre ownership decrees, I have been a part of the Raider Nation for decades, which means that as a fan, you are forever waiting for that proverbial ‘other shoe’ to fall. That’s why it wasn’t really such a shock when coach Jon Gruden was forced to resign because of a series of comments he made in emails over the course of seven years that were laced with racist, homophobic, and misogynistic comments.
For all the swashbuckling, mano y mano machismo of the National Football League, Gruden’s comments are the worst to ever hit the public eye.
During an investigation into certain improprieties in the Washington Football Team operation, Gruden’s comments were found in numerous communications with a former member of the franchise’s front office while working as a commentator for ESPN.
Busted in the media when some of the emails were leaked Gruden had no other choice than to step down as Raiders coach. More than half of the Raiders are African-American, the only openly gay player in the league is on the roster, and Gruden’s disparaging remarks about the only female referee in the NFL will surely not play well should she be assigned to a Raiders game.
The imagery he uses to denigrate an NFL Players Association executive, the homophobic slurs he used to underscore his hatred of the NFL Commissioner, who he alleges coerced the Rams to draft an openly gay player several seasons ago, and his prejudicial stance to oust any players who took a knee during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and ignorance were exposed by the same media that glorified Gruden at one point and spent countless words trying to justify a 10-year coaching contract worth $100 million.
Gruden was an OK coach. He won a couple Super Bowls. But, he is not worth that much money, as his record with the Raiders proves.
Look, the Raiders have a rep. The team is known for its rough and tumble play and outlaw players – from Ken Stabler to Lyle Alzado and so many others who made them one of the most penalized teams in the NFL. They might not have won every game, but they certainly won every fight and were sure to dole out punishment on the field with unmatched ferocity.
But, as an organization, the Raiders were noted for but embracing diversity.
They gave new life to players who had exhausted other teams and coaches
They took a Teddy Bear of a man in Art Shell and made him the first African-American head coach of the modern era.
They hired Tom Flores, the first minority coach in the NFL to win a Super Bowl.
They hired a woman, in 2015, to serve as play-by-play broadcaster for their exhibition games.
They were always united as a team. Yeah, they might squabble and scrape among themselves on the practice field, but God help any outsider who jumped into the fray. They were the NFL’s original Musketeers – one for all and all for one – and you just didn’t mess with them either singularly or as a team.
The only colors they cared about were silver and black, and that is why this whole Gruden thing is so sad.
We have also seen questionable behavior from owner Mark Davis, who inherited the Raiders when his father, Al, passed away.
His only remark about the Gruden scandal thus far: “I have no comment. Ask the NFL. They have all the answers.”
Instead of owning it, instead of taking the opportunity to show some leadership as the league continues to tiptoe through the mess it created when owners and players clashed over the peaceful protests players and coaches participated in to help expose a systemic racism that plagues the nation, instead of recognizing the enormity of the situation, Davis tried to turn it all back on the NFL and, in so doing, tried to set himself up as a martyr who he believes the league is trying to oust.
He could have used the moment to talk about the cultural diversity within the organization, he could have used the moment to shed light on the problem of racism, which permeates our daily lives from pro football to the streets, and he could have used the moment to start the discussion about how to end inequality.
But, he didn’t.
It was an opportunity lost in a moment of arrogance and ignorance.
The thing is, we have 31 other teams in the NFL. How many of them exist within a culture of racism, misogyny, and homophobia?
It’s a plantation mentality that you can only understand when you realize that although 70 percent of the players in the NFL are African-American, less than a handful of coaches are Black and there isn’t one Black owner. In fact, if you take into account not only the NFL, but the NBA and MLB, there is only one African-American team owner, the illustrious Michael Jordan, who owns the Charlotte Hornets. It tells much about why there was such a chasm between players who chose to take a knee in support of equality and the fat, rich, white men who control professional sports and are more concerned with the politics of the elite rather than equality.
The NFL is sitting on a powder keg right now. Who knows how many other coaches or team owners have been found to have made racist, homophobic, misogynistic statements in the more than 650,000 emails investigated. What happens to them? This sort of behavior does not occur in a vacuum.
In fact, I would be willing to bet a lot of money that the Gruden emails are only the tip of the iceberg.
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