Raiders had majority of black players in NFL before Jon Gruden joined as head coach - Report

Jon Gruden resigned as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after certain emails he had sent before joining the organization became public. In the emails, Gruden made seriously disturbing statements that were homophobic and sexist. But perhaps what stood out the most was his latent racism. Jon Gruden used racial epithets to describe the features of a gentleman of color, and vociferously objected to the right to protest against police brutality against black people.

Now, a report shows the real-life effects Gruden's objectionable views presumably had on the Raiders as an organization.

The Raiders players' composition changed under Jon Gruden

The Raiders had a significantly higher percentage of black players before Jon Gruden joined, the report shows, before it details just how much it changed under him.

In 2014, under General Manager Reggie McKenzie, the percentage of black players on the Raiders' roster was 79.2 percent. It rose to 82.3 percent in the 2016 season when the Raiders finished the season with 12 wins in the regular season and McKenzie was named Executive of the Year. It remained roughly the same in 2017.

The following season, Jon Gruden resumed his second stint with the Raiders. One can see the immediate impact, when studying the data, of the effect his appointment had on the racial makeup of the team. By the end of 2018 McKenzie had been relieved of his duties and now full control existed with Jon Gruden. From 82.0 percent in 2017, the black roster percentage decreased to 69.0 percent in 2019, 67.1 percent in 2020 and 67.2 percent in 2021.

To put that into perspective, the average composition of black players in an NFL team is around 70 percent. In case of a general manager who is white, the average decreases and was reported at 67.7 percent in 2016.

With the hiring of Jon Gruden, within one year the percentage fell from being the highest to below average. The reversal to the mean, as a logic, does not cut mustard here either because the only currency the NFL recognizes are wins and the record was much better under Reggie McKenzie than under Jon Gruden.

The report then goes on to observe how in a supposed meritocracy like the NFL, such blatant racial representation is taking place. This also points to the heart of the Jon Gruden saga. If a person espouses appalling views in private, there is a good chance that their equally appalling actions will manifest in public.