'He thinks it's a hit job' - Raiders owner Mark Davis feels league has singled out his team following Jon Gruden email scandal
The Las Vegas Raiders got off to a surprising 3-0 start this season. The team is now 3-2 and in a total state of turmoil following the resignation of head coach Jon Gruden.
Gruden resigned to begin the week after emails leaked featuring him using hateful language toward many different individuals and groups of people. Yet part of the story some may have missed is the emails leaked as part of an NFL investigation into the Washington Football Team.
Raiders owner Mark Davis seems to believe the NFL is out to get him and his team.
Raiders owner Mark Davis said the NFL has "all the answers" after Jon Gruden resigned as head coach. (via @PGutierrezESPN) es.pn/3BDFOdU https://t.co/BjDoXdSnP5
Raiders owner Mark Davis believes the NFL has an agenda
The whole release of the Gruden emails is a questionable situation because someone is behind the leaks. The NFL has denied involvement, but Davis thinks they are not telling the whole truth.
"He thinks the league office is out to get him," said one source who has spoken to Davis. "He thinks it's a hit job."
The Gruden leaks began with an email detailing some racist language used toward NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. Next was a whole new batch of emails featuring homophobic and offensive language that proved Gruden would have a tough time explaining his way out of what he said.
Mark Davis is a fan of Jon Gruden's coaching. Paid him like a king. But Mark, like his father, won't tolerate anything he believes diminishes the Raiders. That brand doesn't abide bigotry.
One fair point Davis can make is that the investigation into Washington featured roughly 650,000 emails. Yet only Gruden's were brought to light and he was never associated with the team in any capacity.
The NFL's decision not to release any more emails from a total of 650,000 will only raise suspicions from the likes of Davis and Raiders fans in general.
This is a complicated situation where it appears emails were strategically leaked, but that does not change the language used by Gruden. Ultimately, the words he used are what led him to essentially being forced to resign.
What this situation could do is build up distrust between owners and the NFL. The most transparent thing to do would be to release all the emails to the public. However, that does not appear to be a possibility as too many private conversations would be brought to light.
Gruden is gone and the Raiders are looking to avoid a three-game losing streak. In the owner's box, Davis has a whole new set of problems to worry about.