REPORT: District court judge denies NFL's motion to compel arbitration regarding Jon Gruden lawsuit
Jon Gruden picked up a major legal victory over the NFL on Wednesday afternoon as a Las Vegas court quickly ruled in favor of the former Las Vegas Raiders coach. A judge has denied the motion from the league to dismiss the lawsuit against them.
The hearing took place at the Regional Justice Center to determine whether his lawsuit against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell should proceed.
As Front Office Sports' senior reporter A.J. Perez relayed, the motion to compel arbitration was denied, meaning that the next step will be a motion to dismiss from the NFL:
"Clark County District Court Judge Nancy Allf denies the NFL's motion to compel arbitration. Jon Gruden's lawsuit will remain in this court and, yes, we could get discovery."
BREAKING: Clark County District Court Judge Nancy Allf denies the NFL's motion to compel arbitration. Jon Gruden's lawsuit will remain in this court and, yes, we could get discovery.
Next: NFL's motion to dismiss. twitter.com/byajperez/stat…
Perez would go on to explain to a confused Twitter user and to the rest of the NFL world what discovery means in this context:
"(Discovery) means that Gruden's attorneys could get access to all 650,000 emails obtained from Commanders investigation and any other info that relates to Gruden. There will be more fighting over those and the judge could seal those, keeping the public for them."
@b_hill365 @FOS It means that Gruden's attorneys could get access to all 650,000 emails obtained from Commanders investigation and any other info that relates to Gruden. There will be more fighting over those and the judge could seal those, keeping the public for them.
The former Raiders head coach shared his reaction to FOS after the hearing had ended, sounding anything but bitter following the courtroom victory:
“We are going to let the process take care of itself. Good luck to the Raiders. Go Raiders.”
NEW: Jon Gruden to @FOS after he secured two major victories in court as the NFL’s motions to dismiss his lawsuit or move it to arbitration were denied:
“We are going to let the process take care of itself. Good luck to the Raiders. Go Raiders.” https://t.co/H4cmMZoar4
Jon Gruden was fired from the Raiders for emails sent from 2010-18
Gruden was discovered to have sent emails before his time with the Raiders that stirred public outrage. Dating back to 2011, the coach took aim at everyone from former President Barack Obama to Kaitlyn Jenner and even Roger Goodell himself.
The coach revealed to ESPN that he was in a bad frame of mind when he sent those emails over a decade ago:
"I was in a bad frame of mind at the time (in 2011), and I called Roger Goodell a (expletive) in one of these emails too. They were keeping players and coaches from doing what they love with a lockout. There also were a lot of things being reported publicly about the safety of the sport that I love."
He went on:
"I was on a mission with high school football (in the Tampa area) during that time, and there were a lot of parents who were scared about letting their kids play football. It just didn't sit well with me."
What ultimately got the coach exiled from the league was his racist description of DeMaurice Smith.
The former coach is certainly not going to be returning to life in the NFL, but it is unlikely to be the last we hear from him on the matter. The lawsuit will undoubtedly take a long time before it reaches its conclusion and we will have to wait and see how it unfolds.