Fired by Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis yesterday, 58-year-old Coach John Gruden becomes the latest victim of cancel culture, disposed of because of offensive private emails exposed by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Thousands of emails exchanged between Gruden and former Washington football executive Bruce Allen shows that Gruden vented locker-room talk including racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments. NFL’s investigation, driven a vendetta between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, releasing thousands of emails criticizing the NFL’s policies related to openly gay football players, female referees and issues with the NFL Players Assn. [NFLPA} President DeMaurice Smith. NFL reportedly reviewed 650,000 emails over a period of 10 years, implicating many other NFL owners and league officials for untoward comments.
Gruden’s rights to privacy for exposing his private emails highlight life in the Internet age where every, Tweet, every email, every text or electronic correspondence can be exposed without consequences. Why was the NFL reviewing 650,000 private emails, other than Goodell getting Gruden for a personal vendetta. “I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches and staff and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone,” Gruden said in a statement. Gruden’s comments in emails went over the top with racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments. “Dumboris Smith has lips the size [sic] of Michellin tires,” Gruden said in on one email, referring to NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith. That one comment was enough to drive Gruden into permanent retirement.
Gruden went to great lengths to say he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body, despite his egregious racist remarks, obviously not intended for public consumption. But public consumption is precisely what Goodell wanted when it came to getting rid of Gruden. Gruden worked for years with his broadcast partner NBC’s Mike Tirico, an African American sports broadcaster. Tirico did everything possible to save Gruden, before the avalanche of emails eventually buried Gruden. Gruden’s emails raise questions about the limits of free speech, even with the confines of private emails or even thoughts. Once the cat is let out of the bag, there’s no turning back, leaving Gruden utterly humiliated for making foolish comments, attempting to be funny but offending just about everyone. Putting Gruden on the spit becomes the latest victim of cancel culture when any inappropriate remark becomes a career-ending event.
Gruden’s email tirades shows that venting one’s spleen has consequences in an overly sensitive cancel-culture, ready to accuse anyone of racist, misogynist and homophobic comments, meaning there’s plenty of minorities ready to get offended. Gruden’s demise comes on now defunct Columbus Days, replaced by Native American’s Day. So Gruden’s crude remarks remind one of the kind of public remarks that leaked about former President Donald Trump before that 2016 election, especially the infamous remarks recorded with Billy Bush, about grabbing women’s private parts. Gruden’s remarks don’t come close the kinds of sexual, drug and domestic abuse allegations of many professional athletes and celebrities, watching their careers flushed down the toilet for a wide variety of indiscretions. Gruden’s guilty of only making insensitive, racist, misogynistic and homophobic remarks.
Firing Gruden satisfies the bloodlust of the politically correct media who’s “gotcha” mentality prevails in an industry feasting on the misery of human frailty. Listening to media analysts talk nonstop about Gruden, it’s a sickening reminder of how today’s media is not that far removed from the Roman Arena, where cheering fans watched gladiators torn limb-for-limb. Whatever happens to Gruden, he’s rich enough to survive the media mobbing, piling on the former Raiders’ coach and broadcast analyst, widely respected for his knowledge of American football. Gruden inherited the mantle of the late NFL icon and former Super Bowl-winning Raider’s coach John Madden Why doesn’t the media review all of Madden’s internal thoughts to comb through his scull to find any hint of racist, misogynist or homophobic thoughts, now that internal thoughts are Orwellian “thought crime.”
Today, the public spectacle is John Gruden, tomorrow it will be someone else. Watching Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo destroyed politically by the political righteous media should remind everyone that today’s witch hunts can be directed to anyone. Unlike Cuomo, there’s weren’t numerous victims coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment at John Gruden. Gruden’s guilty of locker room talk on private emails. Where does the current witch hunt end in today’s society? If NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell can comb through private emails to get rid of coaches and executive, what free speech rights are left? Social Network companies have banned individuals from using their platforms for simply political reasons. No matter how repugnant Gruden’s emails, what right does the NFL have to divulge his private remarks not meant for public consumption?