Fired over emails, former coach wins Supreme Court victory over NFL, Roger Goodell

Former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden scored a huge legal victory against the National Football League (NFL) on Monday.

Four years ago, in 2021, an NFL leak of work emails from the then-coach’s account revealed allegedly racist, sexist, and homophobic language.

Gruden subsequently resigned in October of that year and then filed suit against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell a month later.

Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is suing the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell, saying they ‘sought to destroy [his] career and reputation,’ per @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/jg0rSj0VKo

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 12, 2021

In the suit, he accused the NFL under Goodell of having orchestrated a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” to force his resignation by purposefully leaking emails from his days as an ESPN analyst and “Monday Night Football” broadcaster.

Filed in Nevada’s Clark County District Court, the suit specifically accused the NFL of tortious interference, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy.

According to Fox News, at first Gruden sorta won when a Las Vegas judge rejected the NFL’s attempts to either dismiss the case outright or have it settled through an arbitration process overseen by Goodell.

The NFL subsequently appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, leading to a panel of the high court issuing a ruling last year reversing the lower court’s order, thus forcing Gruden into the NFL’s arbitration process.

“Two justices said Gruden knew when he signed a contract with the Raiders that the NFL used arbitration to resolve disputes,” according to ESPN. “The dissenting justice said it would be ‘outrageous’ for Goodell to arbitrate a dispute in which he is a named defendant.”

But then on Monday, the entire high court ruled 5-2 that “the arbitration clause in the NFL Constitution is unconscionable and does not apply to Gruden as a former employee.”

“Nor, in the circumstances presented here, can the NFL Parties claim equitable estoppel to enforce the arbitration clause in Gruden’s coaching contract with the Raiders. Because the NFL Parties cannot compel Gruden to arbitrate, we ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED,” the order continued.

JUST IN: Legendary coach Jon Gruden has BEAT THE #NFL in Nevada Supreme Court.

There will be no arbitration; his case vs. the league & Goodell heads to court.

Gruden alleges NFL forced his 2021 resignation by leaking his emails with racist, misogynistic, homophobic language. pic.twitter.com/lNYhRSbq4G

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) August 11, 2025

This means that going forward, the lawsuit must be dealt with in the open and not via the NFL’s arbitration process — unless of course the NFL successfully appeals its case to the national Supreme Court.

“We’re very pleased with the Nevada Supreme Court’s decision, not just for Coach Gruden but for all employees facing an employer’s unfair arbitration process,” Gruden’s attorneys with McDonald Carano LLP told ESPN.

“This victory further vindicates Coach Gruden’s reputation, and it clears the way to swiftly bringing him full justice and holding the NFL accountable,” they added.

All this comes months after Gruden shared his hope of returning to the field during a visit to the Lions.

“Hopefully I’m not done,” he told reporters during the visit. “I’m about to make a comeback. I’m working hard to maybe get one more shot, but hopefully some of these guys that fell off my branch, if you say it that way, maybe they can hire me cause I’m looking for a job.”

“I don’t care if I coach at Jones Junior High,” he added. “I’m going to coach again. I’m still coaching. I’m just not on a team officially, but I do have some private assignments I work on, and I wear some gear when I’m watching the games that nobody knows about who I’m pulling for.”

That being said, even though Gruden resigned from his post in 2021, he’s been active on the NFL sidelines ever since.

“People thought I was nuts, this guy is freaking nuts.”

Former Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden on #Lions offensive coordinator John Morton.

Gruden served as a mentor to Morton early in his coaching career. Gruden will be at Lions practice for the next few days. pic.twitter.com/6SI43OCiCO

— Kory Woods (@KoryEWoods) July 28, 2025

“He’s been seen on the sidelines working with players from the New Orleans Saints and, most recently, the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars,” according to Fox News. “He’s also a part-owner and consultant for the Arena Football One League’s Nashville Kats.”

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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