NFL decides to dismiss Jon Gruden lawsuit

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The NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell have formally asked a Nevada judge to dismiss the lawsuit brought against them by former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden.

In court documents filed Wednesday, league attorneys called Gruden’s lawsuit a “baseless attempt” to blame NFL executives for the public reaction to vulgar emails he sent over seven years. Gruden resigned in October after the contents of the emails were revealed in reports by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

“Gruden does not and cannot dispute that he wrote the published emails,” the NFL wrote in a motion to dismiss filed Wednesday. “He does not and cannot dispute that he sent these emails to multiple parties. Nor does he claim that they have been edited or edited in any way and that the opinions repugnances expressed therein were in fact not expressed by him.

“Instead, Gruden filed the Instant Complaint against the NFL and the Commissioner, portraying himself as the victim in a fictionalized story and seeking money through baseless claims against the NFL.”

The NFL later added, “To the extent that Jon Gruden suffered damage, he has no one to blame but himself.”

Gruden’s attorneys did not immediately respond to an email from USA TODAY Sports seeking comment on the NFL’s motion.

The league’s official response to Gruden’s lawsuit comes more than two months after his first filing in Clark County District Court and three months after his resignation. Gruden alleged that the league deliberately leaked his emails – which include homophobic and misogynistic language – to news outlets in an effort to force him out of his role as Raiders coach, describing it as “character assassination. Soviet style”.

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Jon Gruden resigned as head coach of the Raiders on October 11.

Both the NFL and Goodell have publicly denied leaking the emails, which were discovered as part of its investigation into a toxic work culture at the Washington football team.

The story continues

The league reiterated those denials in Wednesday’s court papers, while arguing, among other things, that Gruden had no realistic expectation of privacy when he sent the emails in the first place.

“Gruden deliberately sent numerous profane emails to half a dozen individuals at a time, including several corporate mail servers subject to third-party monitoring, belying any conclusive claims that he could do for an expectation of confidentiality from them,” the league explained. .

In addition to the motion to dismiss, attorneys for the NFL and Goodell also filed a motion asking the judge to send the lawsuit to arbitration. They argue that the issues raised by Gruden “[belong]to arbitration under the clear terms of Gruden’s employment contract and the NFL Constitution and Bylaws to which Gruden is bound.”

Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL tears up Jon Gruden lawsuit over leaked emails moving to dismiss

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