Jon Gruden has failed in his attempt to get the Nevada Supreme Court to reconsider whether his lawsuit against the NFL for contract interference and conspiracy should be decided in court or through private arbitration. This lawsuit came after he resigned as the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Following the court’s notice posted on Monday, lawyers for Gruden, the NFL, and a league spokesperson did not respond to inquiries. It remains uncertain if Gruden can request a hearing before all seven justices of the state Supreme Court.
Gruden’s legal team sought the rehearing after a three-justice panel was divided in a decision on May 14, which ruled that the league could push the civil case from state court to arbitration, potentially overseen by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
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Nevada court sides with NFL in Gruden lawsuit 49d Gruden filed his lawsuit in November 2021, claiming that the NFL forced him to resign by leaking emails containing racist, sexist, and homophobic language that he had sent years earlier while working at ESPN. Goodell is one of the defendants in the lawsuit.
Two justices noted that Gruden was aware that the NFL constitution allowed disputes to be settled through arbitration. They mentioned it was unclear whether Goodell or a third-party arbitrator would handle Gruden’s case.
One justice expressed that allowing Goodell to arbitrate a dispute in which he is directly involved would be “outrageous.”
Gruden was the head coach of the Raiders when the team relocated to Las Vegas from Oakland, California, in 2020. He stepped down in November 2021, with over six seasons remaining on his 10-year, $100 million contract.
The NFL appealed to the state Supreme Court after a Las Vegas judge ruled in May 2022 that Gruden’s claim, alleging the league leaked only his documents intentionally, could demonstrate “specific intent” or an action aimed at achieving a specific outcome.
Gruden’s emails, sent from 2011 to 2018 to former Washington Commanders executive Bruce Allen, were discovered among approximately 650,000 emails obtained by the league during an investigation into the workplace culture of the Washington team.
Gruden is seeking financial compensation, arguing that the selective release of the emails and their publication by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times ruined his career and derailed endorsement deals.
Previously, Gruden had coached in the NFL from 1990 to 2008, including terms with the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the latter of which he led to a Super Bowl victory in 2003. He worked as a TV analyst for ESPN for several years before being re-hired by the Raiders in 2018.
