Why Did Jon Gruden Feel Comfortable Being a Whole Bigot on His Work Email?

The real story isn’t only about what the disgraced former NFL coach wrote — it’s about the culture that encouraged it

Michael Arceneaux
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Photo: Chris Unger/Getty Images

Are you surprised that an NFL head coach has turned out to be a racist, homophobic, sexist piece of shit?

If you’ve got even surface-level knowledge about the National Football League, you probably shouldn’t be. This is an organization criticized for protecting men accused of beating women more than those peacefully protesting against police brutality. The league that fumbled on the handling of players experiencing brain damage due to repeated head trauma, and has taken damn near a whole century to get one of its teams to change its blatantly racist name.

Sure, there are plenty of folks within the league who have done remarkable things and continue to try to redirect these fossils from their foolish ways. But the point remains: I don’t expect morality from the NFL. Still, I have to admit that I was shocked to hear that now-resigned Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden was dumb enough to leave a fucking paper trail of prejudice.

Gruden stepped down Monday after the New York Times detailed emails that featured him writing racist quips like “Dumboriss…

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Michael Arceneaux
LEVEL

New York Times bestselling author of “I Can’t Date Jesus” and “I Don’t Want To Die Poor.”