Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden recently resigned from his position due to the surface of emails that used derogatory and hateful language to describe colleagues.
Upon his departure from the team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also announced that they would be removing Gruden, the former coach that led their team to victory in their first Super Bowl win, from their Ring of Honor.
The emails were first brought to the public’s attention when the New York Times published the harsh words of the NFL coach. Within the contents of the emails, Gruden referred to the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, as a “f*ggot” and also shared that he believed the commissioner was a “clueless anti-football p*ssy.”
Needless to say, not many folks were happy to hear these comments reach the public eyes. Following the breaking news, Gruden resigned from his current position as head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders. “I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone,” Gruden then wrote in a statement.
RELATED: Jon Gruden Resigns as Raiders Head Coach Over Misogynistic, Racist, and Homophobic Emails
Tampa Bay Buccaneers remove Jon Gruden from their legendary Ring of Honor
Jon Gruden served as a coach for Tampa Bay from 2002 to 2008, leading the Florida Based team to their first Super Bowl victory in 2002. He was the youngest head coach to do so in the NFL at the age of 39 and his hard work led him to be instated into the Tampa Bay Ring of Honor. “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have advocated for purposeful change in the areas of race relations, gender equality, diversity, and inclusion for many years,” the team shared in a statement.
The Buccs went on to add, “While we acknowledge Jon Gruden’s contributions on the field, his actions go against our core values as an organization. Therefore, he will no longer continue to be a member of the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.”
However, many people argue that the former head coach doesn’t deserve this treatment; that erasing his legacy is counterproductive. Ian Beckles, a former player of Gruden, explained his thoughts. “I still think O.J. Simpson deserves to be in the NFL hall of fame,” WFLA reported he shared.
Beckles then went on to reveal, “Should he be in the ring of honor? Yes, I do believe that. We’re putting him up there for what he accomplished. You can’t take away the Super Bowl ring, you can’t take away the Super Bowl.”
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