NFL owners expected to ask pointed questions this week about Jon Gruden lawsuit

When a company is sued by a current or former employee, the main focus is usually on winning the case and not finding out what caused it. It’s about skirting the wagons, not chasing the truth.

Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell triggered an extensive effort by the league to force the case through its preferred forum: the secretive and fraudulent arbitration court ultimately controlled by Goodell. By all accounts, there has been little or no effort to find out who decided to trigger Gruden’s ouster.

Last week, the league won the arbitration issue before the Nevada Supreme Court. Gruden There’s still more moves to make in the judicial system, in Nevada and beyond. He could still force the case into open court, where everything would be exposed to the public – and where (in the absence of a deal) we would all know who targeted Gruden.

Gruden was clearly targeted by someone. Leaving aside the question of whether he should have remained in office, given the emails he sent, someone weaponized a handful of messages from some 650,000 classified documents collected in the Washington investigation and leaked them first to the Wall Street Journal and then to the New York Times before Gruden resigned under pressure.

A very small universe of people had access to Gruden’s emails. It wouldn’t be difficult for the league to find out who leaked them. But the league’s main concern for now is reversing the Gruden lawsuit, not finding out who used the emails to take Gruden down.

The NFL constantly insists on the integrity of the game. Once a given season begins, the NFL is hesitant to change the rules in order to protect the integrity of the entire season.

In Gruden’s case, the league (as we reported at the time) received the emails in June 2021. If anyone believed that Gruden should not coach in the NFL because of emails sent while working for ESPN, that could have been resolved then, giving the Raiders a chance to replace him before the start of training camp. Instead, someone waited until the Raiders were 3-1 before making the first leak two days before the game. The Raiders lost to the Bears and then, the next day, the second leak happened – and Gruden disappeared.

After five games, the Raiders’ season descended into chaos. Regardless of whether Gruden deserved what he got, the Raiders did not. The problem should have been resolved before the season started or after it ended. Whoever forced the emails to leak compromised the integrity of the 2021 season.

In an era of legalized betting, the conduct also compromised the integrity of several future bets. Anyone who bet on the Raiders to clinch the division or to win more games than the projected over-under or to win the Super Bowl had those bets turned upside down when someone started the process that forced Gruden out during the season. .

Again, the NFL’s main concern at this point is winning the Gruden case. Still, as the owners meet this week and potentially receive an update on the case, one or more owners (starting with Mark Davis) must be asking very pointed questions about why Code Red was ordered at that time and whether the league is accepting. that wrinkle as seriously as it should.

Without Gruden, the Raiders made the playoffs and nearly defeated the eventual AFC champions in the wild card round. What would have happened if Gruden had been allowed to finish out the year? What would have happened if Gruden had left in June and Davis had the chance to replace him before the season started?

Even without legalized gambling, the integrity of the game — and specifically the integrity of the Raiders’ season — required something more strategic than someone deciding during the season to knee Gruden. Homeowners should want to know who did this and make sure it never happens again.

The problem is that by focusing on this issue while Gruden still has active litigation pending, the league could strengthen Gruden’s case. Regardless, it’s obvious that someone who had access to Gruden’s emails compromised the integrity of the season by releasing them four games in. If the league cared as much about the integrity of the league as it claims, it would take this issue even more seriously, even if it forces a deal with Gruden.