Former Raiders Coach Jon Gruden Sues NFL and Roger Goodell, Accuses Them of ‘Soviet-Style Character Assassination’

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Jon Gruden, who was recently ousted as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, is suing the National Football League and Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Gruden was at the center of serious controversy over a series of emails reported in the past month. The first report revealed he said of NFL Players’ Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, a Black man, “Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin tires.”

Subsequent reporting said he sent out emails with homophobic and misogynistic language. Gruden ultimately resigned.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Gruden now says he was “forced to resign” after “a malicious and orchestrated campaign.”

The lawsuit from Gruden accuses the NFL and Goodell of a “a Soviet-style character assassination.”

“There was no warning and no process. Defendants held the emails for months until they were leaked to the national media in the middle of the Raiders’ season in order to cause maximum damage to Gruden,” it reads.

The lawsuit also claims that they “ratcheted up the pressure by intimating that further documents would become public if Gruden was not fired.”

The NFL responded to the lawsuit by calling his claims “entirely meritless.”