Nearly four years after initially suing the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell over leaked emails that cost him his job as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Jon Gruden got a significant win in the latest proceedings, with the Nevada Supreme Court blocking the case from going to arbitration.
The Nevada Supreme Court's Monday decision -- a 5-2 win for Gruden -- said that the NFL Constitution and Bylaws' arbitration clause "does not apply to Gruden as a former employee and is unconscionable." As a result, Gruden's case can proceed in public instead of going to arbitration unless the NFL appeals the decision to the Supreme Court.
Gruden sued the league and its commissioner back in November 2021, alleging they leaked his supposedly confidential emails in a "malicious and orchestrated campaign" that "sought to destroy the career and reputation" of Gruden. The email leak emerged during the NFL's investigation of the Washington Commanders' toxic workplace environment. The judges did not rule on whether Gruden's claims are true or not. The NFL has described Gruden's claims as "baseless," saying the former coach is at fault for the content of his emails.
The Wall Street Journal first shed light on a 2011 email between Gruden and then Washington team president Bruce Allen in which Gruden used a racist trope when discussing then-NFLPA president DeMaurice Smith, who is Black. Gruden was not an NFL employee when he sent that email. However, the New York Times reported on more emails, ranging from 2010 to 2018, the year Gruden became the Raiders' head coach. The correspondences included Gruden directing vulgarity at Goodell and "casually and frequently" using "misogynistic and homophobic language," per the New York Times' reporting.
Gruden resigned from the Raiders in October 2021, shortly after the New York Times report.
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Article VIII of the NFL Constitution states that the commissioner has "full, complete and final authority to arbitrate any dispute involving a member or members in the League or any players or employees of the members of the League or any combination thereof that in the opinion of the Commissioner constitutes conduct detrimental to the best interests of the League or professional football."
However, the decision obtained by Front Office Sports notes that Gruden sued the NFL and Goodell after he resigned as coach of the Raiders, meaning he was no longer an employee.
"By its own unambiguous language, the NFL Constitution no longer applies to Gruden," the decision reads.
The ruling also says there is both "procedural and substantive unconscionability" in the NFL Constitution's arbitration clause.
Gruden "had no opportunity to negotiate away the provisions of the NFL Constitution or its incorporation into his employment contract," the ruling reads, leading to procedural unconscionability.
"The NFL Constitution would allow Goodell, as Commissioner, to arbitrate disputes about his own conduct -- exactly what is at issue here," the decision reads. "The ability of the stronger party to select a biased arbitrator is unconscionable, even if the stronger party may ultimately choose a neutral arbitrator."
The ruling also noted the NFL's ability to amend its constitution at any time without any notice also renders the arbitration clause substantively unconscionable.
Gruden initially got a win over the NFL when a lower-level state judge rejected the NFL's effort to dismiss the lawsuit or force it into private arbitration overseen by Goodell. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in the NFL's favor in May 2024, voting 2-1 to dismiss the case, and then rejected an appeal by Gruden's attorneys in July 2024. However, in October 2024, the Nevada Supreme Court granted Gruden's motion for the case to be heard by the full court, and it now has ruled in his favor
The NFL could petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, but because the U.S. Supreme Court hears so few appeal requests, a court battle between Gruden and the NFL -- something the league has hoped to avoid -- could be next.
Gruden, 61, is hoping to get back into coaching and has recently expressed interest in the college level. Gruden spent parts of 15 seasons as an NFL head coach. He started with four seasons with the Oakland Raiders before seven with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won a Super Bowl in 2002. After a long stint as an analyst for ESPN, he returned to the Raiders in 2018 before his resignation in 2021. In all, he has a 117-112 record.