Jon Gruden vs. NFL lawsuit: Nevada Supreme Court rejects league’s petition in latest legal win for ex-coach

The Nevada Supreme Court unanimously (7-0) rejected the NFL’s request to rehear its decision to allow Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the league to proceed in public. It’s another significant win for Gruden, who sued the league and commissioner Roger Goodell in 2021, claiming a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” was organized to destroy Gruden’s career by leaking his old emails that included offensive language. The lawsuit was filed shortly after Gruden resigned as Raiders coach.

ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. was the first to report on the development. 

In August, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gruden, 5-2, that the NFL Constitution and Bylaws’ arbitration clause “does not apply to Gruden as a former employee and is unconscionable.” As such, the case could proceed in public instead of going to arbitration as preferred by the NFL.

Article VIII of the NFL Constitution states the commissioner has “full, complete and final authority to arbitrate any dispute involving a member or members in the League or any players or employees of the members of the League or any combination thereof that in the opinion of the Commissioner constitutes conduct detrimental to the best interests of the League or professional football.”

However, the decision from August noted that Gruden was no longer an NFL employee when he sued the league, so the arbitration clause did not apply. Furthermore, the ruling said the arbitration clause as a whole — in which Goodell could rule over disputes involving his own conduct — has “procedural and substantive unconscionability.”

The Nevada Supreme Court judges did not rule on whether Gruden’s claims are true or not.

The NFL appealed the ruling, as expected, shortly after it was delivered. Now, however, the league’s appeal to rehear the decision has been denied. The NFL can appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, but the Supreme Court hears very few cases per year. The NFL had hoped that this lawsuit would go to arbitration to avoid potentially damning details becoming public, but it is rapidly running out of options. 

‘Someone will give him a chance:’ Why Jon Gruden’s desire to coach college football shouldn’t be ignored

Brandon Marcello

The Wall Street Journal first uncovered a 2011 email between Gruden and then-Washington team president Bruce Allen in which Gruden used a racist trope when discussing then-NFLPA president DeMaurice Smith, who is Black. Gruden was not an NFL employee when he sent that email. However, the New York Times uncovered emails ranging from 2010 to 2018, the year Gruden became the Raiders’ coach. The emails included Gruden directing vulgarity at Goodell and “casually and frequently” using “misogynistic and homophobic language,” per the New York Times’ reporting.

Gruden resigned from the Raiders in October 2021, shortly after the New York Times report.

Gruden, 62, is hoping to get back into coaching and has recently expressed interest in the college level. Gruden spent parts of 15 seasons as an NFL head coach. He started with four seasons with the Oakland Raiders before seven with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won a Super Bowl in 2002. After a long stint as an analyst for ESPN, he returned to the Raiders in 2018 before his resignation in 2021. In all, he has a 117-112 record.