Jon Gruden resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night following the release of emails that includes racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language.
Jon Gruden spoke with #Raiders owner Mark Davis a short time ago to inform Davis of his decision. It's official. Gruden is out in Las Vegas. https://t.co/zkzkVryyfe
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 12, 2021
Afterward, some people were shocked to see the sentiments laid out in black and white like that. However, one person who doesn’t appear to have been shocked by the revelation was Keyshawn Johnson.
Johnson played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers between 2000 and 2003 and Gruden was the head coach of the team for two of those years. That relationship ended acrimoniously when Johnson was deactivated during the 2003 season.
Johnson appeared on ESPN to discuss his experiences playing for Gruden and he did not mince words. Johnson referred to Gruden as a “fraud” and “used car salesman” who would talk behind people’s backs all the time.
"He's just always been a fraud to me. … From day one, he's always been a used car salesman."
—@keyshawn on Jon Gruden (via @KeyJayandMax) pic.twitter.com/KaxQ3w056S
— ESPN (@espn) October 12, 2021
“I didn’t know that Jon would say things like that or put them in an email,” Johnson said. “He’s just always been a fraud to me.
“From day one, he’s been a used car salesman. And people bought it because he inherited a championship team from Tony Dungy and Rich McKay, and he came in there with a little bit of different energy than we had with Tony, and it kind of kicked us over the top to get a world championship, which I’m grateful for.”
There are probably going to be way more people who share similar stories today regarding Gruden and it’s hard to believe too many people in the NFL are going to want to defend him.
[ESPN]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.