LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Nevada Supreme Court on Monday upheld a lower court’s ruling that a lawsuit filed by former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden against the National Football League and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, can proceed in court rather than be decided in private arbitration.
The decision said Gruden was no longer a league employee when he filed his lawsuit and that the NFL Constitution’s arbitration provision did not apply. The court also found that the NFL could not use the arbitration clause in Gruden’s contract with the Raiders.
Gruden, 61, accused the league of improperly leaking racist, sexist and homophobic emails he sent while working as an ESPN announcer to force him to resign from the Raiders in 2021. His lawsuit alleges that disclosure of the emails destroyed his career and ruined endorsement contracts. He is seeking monetary damages.
Gruden coached the Raiders in Oakland from 1998 to 2001, then led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for seven years, winning a Super Bowl title in 2003. He spent several years as a TV analyst for ESPN before being hired by the Raiders again in 2018.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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