Jon Gruden alleges Roger Goodell and league were behind the leaked derogatory emails

Jon Gruden's emails have been a source of shame for both Roger Goodell and the NFL, as much as they have damaged the reputation of the former coach as well. What has come out of that has led to litigation by Gruden against the NFL commissioner and the league.

When the NFL asked the courts to throw out the lawsuit brought by the former Las Vegas Raiders coach, they were rebuffed. Their attempts at arbitration also failed.

Jon Gruden is now alleging that Roger Goodell and the NFL were responsible for the leaks behind the derogatory emails.

“In contrast to the formalities of the Washington Football Team investigation, defendants’ treatment of Gruden was a Soviet-style character assassination. There was no warning and no process. Defendants held the emails for months until they were leaked to the national media in the middle of the Raiders’ season in order to cause maximum damage to Gruden.”

Essentially, it alleges that the NFL had a vested interest in forcing Gruden out and that he never got a fair trial.

Goodell will find it an unnecessary distraction for the league. But there may be merit in the case because the NFL refuses to detail the full investigation behind their workplace practices, including racism and sexism, in the Washington Football Team.

However, it made no effort to tamp down the details coming out of a single person's personal emails.

The latest salvo against Roger Goodell by Jon Gruden

This marks the latest escalation by the former NFL coach against the NFL commissioner. Prior to this, as mentioned before, he and his team had succeeded in stopping Roger Goodell and the NFL from throwing out the lawsuit and moving it from open court proceedings into arbitration.

It opens up the possibility of a real headache for Goodell as it may expose the NFL and force them to reveal more details into the investigation into the Washington Football Team and who had access to its data.

It might also bring them to the mat if it can be proved they targeted an individual. Such a result would not only put pressure through the courts, but the general public would then be interested in knowing the full scale of the investigation. It is being kept private by Roger Goodell at the moment.

When Jon Gruden's lawyers said earlier that the lawsuit is the "real deal" and may compromise Roger Goodell's job, it seems they were not making idle threats.