Jon Gruden, former coach of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, made headlines during the last week for all the wrong reasons. Recently made public emails sent by Gruden target individuals and groups, Blacks and whites, female referees, cheerleaders, gays, and players who protest racial injustices during the national anthem, and even those who suffer from concussions. Gruden’s messages have been characterized and criticized as misogynistic, disgusting, hateful, racist, homophobic, hurtful, demeaning, and that’s only a sample of reactions. Gruden was fired shortly after these emails surfaced.
Responses to the emails have come from Gruden himself, other current and former NFL players, NFL owners and coaches, sportscasters, The League, and journalists who cover sports and some who do not. The responses reveal a great deal about what we know about bigotry, and what we don’t. For example:
- When the emails were leaked, Jon countered the criticism by saying he doesn’t have an “ounce of racism.” He also said he didn’t mean to hurt anyone by his comments. For many, Gruden’s comments are hard-to-believe. Carl Nassib, a gay football player who is currently a member of the Raiders, recently took a personal day to try to process all this stuff. And Gruden, who is white, uses the same old “I don’t have a racist bone in my body” line that we’ve heard time and time again. Whether he’s totally clueless or knowingly lying is anyone’s guess.
- Does Gruden reflect the larger culture? Clearly the answer is yes. That’s not to say the NFL and our society hasn’t made progress; they have. But what Gruden did is by no means isolated. Players, owners, and coaches have repeatedly shown similar behavior. Contrary to what some of us want to believe, racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry are systemic throughout society, including the NFL.
- Once one of Gruden’s racist emails became public, two well-known football broadcasters, Tony Dungee and Mike Tirico, came to Gruden’s defense. They knew Gruden personally and agreed the emails were wrong. However, they vouched for him as someone who was being misjudged. As much as we think we know someone, we can be wrong. People compartmentalize bigotry and show it to some and not others. Gruden evidently was a pro at doing this.
- Nancy Armor, journalist for USA Today, wrote an opinion piece titled, “Getting rid of Jon Gruden was easy. How will NFL root out other bigots?” First, if the NFL got rid of bigots, the League would cease to exist. We all repeatedly show bigotry in some form or another. Googling bigotry, I found this definition: “noun…obstinate or unreasonable attachment to a belief, opinion, or faction; in particular, prejudices (or prejudgments) against a person or group on the basis of their membership in a particular group.” We like to think of bigots as the Grudens of the world, and we’re the choir. Bigotry refers to behavior, our behavior. When the NFL embraces slogans such as “Inspire Change,” “Black Lives Matter,” “Stop Hate,” and “End Racism,” we might want to start with ourselves.
- Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, responded by saying things in the NFL are getting better, especially among the players. Referring to Gruden’s behavior, Rodgers continues, “I can say with real honesty and pride that I don’t feel like those are opinions that are shared by players. I feel like, in the locker room, it’s a close-knit group of guys. And we don’t treat people differently based on the way they talk, where they’re from, what they’re into, what they look like.” Perhaps if Aaron was gay or Black or different in some other way, he might feel differently.
- Players show various forms of bigotry like anyone else. A recent headline in The Washington Post read, “Gruden’s email were jarring-but maybe not surprising.” Sports can bring people together, but it doesn’t eliminate bigotry by any means. It is no more surprising when a coach or athlete writes hate-filled emails than when the average Joe does this.
It’s worth noting that other NFL players are aware that coaches, owners and players have significant work to do in terms of the way they treat people. But then again, we all do. It’s important to be open, honest, and committed to holding ourselves and others responsible. That includes the NFL and the wide world of sports.
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