Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the LA Raiders, resigned on Monday, Oct.11 after a slew of homophobic, racist and misogynistic emails amassed over seven years were exposed. In these emails, he used racist tropes to describe the looks of a black football commissioner, denounce the NFL for drafting gay players, rejected female referees and was even found to be sending pornographic photos of women to other NFL personnel. 

“Taken together, the emails provide an unvarnished look into the clubby culture of one N.F.L. circle of peers, where white male decision makers felt comfortable sharing pornographic images, deriding the league policies, and jocularly sharing homophobic language,” the New York Times reported.

This situation sheds light on the coddling of staff and players alike by the NFL despite their repeated talk of “commitment” to being an inclusive and accepting organization. Even in an instance like this, Gruden was not fired but rather resigned on his own. 

To make matters worse, Gruden’s response to the situation was less than satisfactory saying, “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,” in his resignation announcement on Twitter. He even went so far as to say on Friday that he did not remember sending the emails, but that his comments went too far and that he “never had a blade of racism” in him.

This situation and all that it has brought forth is just another example of the toxic environment often created in the professional sports industry. It is a slap in the face to all the players, staff, fans and families that are dedicated supporters of the NFL. and other personnel that may identify with the minority groups being degraded in such comments, but it is also an equal slap in the face to all fans, supporters and families that are dedicated to supporting the NFL. So many people are hurt and angered by these degrading comments, yet their concerns are ignored.

This contradictory behavior displayed by the NFL is nothing new, but is something tired and played out time after time. Who knows how many more Grudens are employed by the NFL right now? Only time will tell and that is the problem.