Until yesterday (October 11), Jon Gruden was known around the NFL as a brilliant offensive mind and helped lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title in 2003. After a series of emails were flagged by the NFL and sent to the Las Vegas Raiders, Gruden stepped down as head coach of the team, prompting many online to remind the world that Colin Kaepernick was indeed correct about the league’s widespread racism.
Last Friday (October 8), the Wall Street Journal published a scathing report highlighting that Gruden used racist language towards NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith in an email dating back to 2011. The email was initially sent to the president of the Washington Football Team in the summer of that year while the league and players were in the middle of negotiating terms regarding a lockout.
In the email, Gruden said Smith had, “lips the size of Michelin tires” according to the Journal’s account. Gruden was not an employee of the NFL at the time but was part of the television crew that covered games for Monday Night Football. Gruden told ESPN reporters that he had no recollection of writing the email but did offer an apology. Gruden then lazily explained that the term “rubber lips” was used as a way to refer to a person lying.
“I’m ashamed I insulted De Smith,” Gruden said to EPSN. “I never had a racial thought when I used it. I’m embarrassed by what’s out there. I certainly never meant for it to sound that bad.”
Right.
Twitter is currently smoking on that Jon Gruden pack right now and we’ve got the reactions below. It should be noted that Tim Tebow, who really stunk it up in his recent comeback attempts, got more chances than a man who took his team to the Super Bowl. You don’t have to guess why, either, especially not now.
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Photo: Getty
1.
This Gruden story is why the NFL just had to pay Kaepernick rather than go through all them subpoenas.
— Rod (@rodimusprime) October 12, 2021
2.
One more time: Kaepernick was right.
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) October 12, 2021
3.
Y'all really were mad at @Kaepernick7 tho??? pic.twitter.com/LflwPNOGW9
— AlexisOhanian 7⃣7⃣6⃣ (@alexisohanian) October 12, 2021
4.
Colin Kaepernick peacefully took a knee to protest police brutality & racism. Jon Gruden openly professed grotesque racism, bigotry, & misogyny for decades.
NFL ousted Kaepernick, but promoted Gruden. This is what institutional racism looks like. https://t.co/ddVCShEzud
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) October 12, 2021
5.
So…..we’re talking a ton of emails well beyond Gruden. Starting to understand why the NFL wanted to settle with Kaepernick on his collusion case.
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) October 12, 2021
6.
How Kaepernick looking at the NFL pic.twitter.com/K988aXjuLg
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) October 12, 2021
7.
Mark Davis: Colin Kaepernick would like to speak with the team
Gruden: pic.twitter.com/L82QudmerB
— LouisianaGirlDad (@KoolKerm_) October 12, 2021
8.
It's crazy that the Raiders are firing Coach Gruden over racism when the entire league blackballed Colin Kaepernick… because racism.
— I Smoked Jon Gruden But Kaepernick Cant Get A Job (@BlackKnight10k) October 12, 2021
9.
The ongoing NFL scandal is that Eric Reid and Colin Kaepernick remain unsigned. pic.twitter.com/ozHotkWZ0W
— Resist Programming (@RzstProgramming) October 12, 2021
10.
Just like the email lady, Colin Kaepernick was right. pic.twitter.com/biieefJBPN
— Heyoka (@HeyokaEmpath01) October 12, 2021
11.
Many GMs/coaches think just like Jon Gruden. They like Black players when they can run fast and catch. But let them protest for Black lives off the field & they want them out of
NFL. Time to sign Eric Reid & Colin Kaepernick who are still blackballedhttps://t.co/43pNAfcOzM— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) October 12, 2021
12.
Y'all see why the league wanted to settle Kaepernick's collusion case quickly and quietly? There's a good on boy plantation owner mentality among owners and coaches. And Gruden is a mediocre coach who only got as far as he did on Tony Dungy's back.
— Torraine Walker (@TorraineWalker) October 12, 2021
13.
Can you imagine if we actually had the discovery phase in Kaepernick’s collision lawsuit. https://t.co/vFETRXMVM9
— Andrew Hammond (@ahammFreePress) October 12, 2021
14.
The firing of Jon Gruden is just helping prove that Colin Kaepernick was right.
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) October 12, 2021
15.
Right wing s claiming Jon Gruden was canceled are the same ones that cheered on the NFL when they blackballed Eric Reid and Colin Kaepernick. pic.twitter.com/fQwDkFCJRt
— Isael Diaz (@thefuture1998) October 12, 2021
No Kap: Kaepernick Trends On Twitter After NFL Coach Jon Gruden’s Racist Emails Go Wide was originally published on hiphopwired.com