A new tranche of Jon Gruden emails was released Monday night, making it clear that the racist email he sent about DeMaurice Smith was not an anomaly.
In the emails, Gruden uses a number of misogynist and anti-gay slurs to disparage everyone from Roger Goodell to Joe Biden. He calls both men a “p—-” and Goodell a “f—–” who pushed the Rams to draft “queers” when they picked Michael Sam.
The emails were reported by the New York Times. Sam was the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team, in 2014; Gruden’s previously reported racist email about Smith was from 2011.
Gruden resigned as Raiders coach Monday night, according to multiple reports. He coached the Raiders to a loss to the Bears on Sunday, two days after the first email was reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The emails were discovered by the NFL in an investigation into sexual harassment in the Washington front office. Gruden was exchanging emails with then-Washington GM Bruce Allen and several executives, including a founder of Hooters.
Carl Nassib, the first openly gay active player in the NFL, plays on Gruden’s team, the Las Vegas Raiders.
According to several reports, the NFL had flagged the emails to the Raiders last week. The Wall Street Journal reported on the 2011 email about union head DeMaurice Smith last Friday.
In that email, Gruden wrote “Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin tires.” Over several non-apologies last week, Gruden claimed “I don’t have a racial bone in my body,” and said he didn’t remember writing the email.
At the time of the emails, Gruden was a broadcaster for ESPN. He returned to NFL coaching in 2018 after a decade-long hiatus. He signed a ten-year, $100 million deal to coach the Raiders, ultimately making it five games into his fourth season.
According to the Times, the disparaging and anti-gay emails about Goodell were because Gruden “disapproved of Goodell’s emphasis on safety” as the NFL dealt with growing scrutiny over concussions.
4:10 PM PT — TMZ Sports has learned … LeBron James tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon using a lateral flow test. James was given a follow-up PCR test to confirm the diagnosis. However, that test came back negative. LeBron was then given a third tie-breaker test … which came back positive.
We’re told the team has chartered a private jet so Bron can fly back to Los Angeles in a safe manner.
We’re also told James is currently asymptomatic. LeBron is fully vaccinated.
LeBron James has been placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will miss tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings, the league announced Tuesday.
The news comes just hours before the Lakers are set to go up against the Kings.
It’s unclear if 36-year-old James is COVID-19 positive, if he was a close contact or had a false positive.
Per the league’s rules, if James is positive, he will be away from the team either for the next 10 days or until he submits at least two negative PCR tests before returning.
LeBron is fully vaccinated but has previously shied away from encouraging others to get the jab.
“We’re talking about individuals’ bodies,” LeBron said back in September. “We’re not talking about something that’s political, or racism, or police brutality. Things of that nature. We’re talking about people’s bodies and well being.”
“So, I don’t feel like, for me personally, that I should get involved in what other people should do for their bodies and their livelihoods.”
“108 FIFA players & coaches have died in the last 6 months alone”
we need to talk about what’s causing this statistically undisputed SPIKE in non-covid EXCESS DEATHS” (my thread below, within thread, collates multiple reports) pic.twitter.com/G2dZTHH7Smhttps://t.co/zjfFZ9FQi7
State Farm and other companies Aaron Rodgers is the spokesperson for came under fire after the Green Bay Packers superstar revealed his stance on the coronavirus vaccine.
Rodgers had already been dropped by Prevea Health over the weekend and on Monday it was State Farm’s turn to decide what they were going to do with the reigning NFL MVP. Rodgers had been seen in countless ads for the insurance company touting their “discount double check.”
State Farm said it supported Rodgers’ “personal point of view” despite disagreeing with his statements on “The Pat McAfee Show” last week.
“Aaron Rodgers has been a great ambassador for our company for much of the past decade,” State Farm said in a statement to FOX Business.
“We don’t support some of the statements that he has made, but we respect his right to have his own personal point of view. We recognize our customers, employees, agents and brand ambassadors come from all walks of life, with differing viewpoints on many issues. Our mission at State Farm is to support safer, stronger communities. To that end, we encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone’s right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances.”
Rodgers rattled off several reasons why he chose not to get vaccinated, including an allergy he said he has from an ingredient in mRNA vaccines. He said he also talked to his friend Joe Rogan about the treatments the podcaster took when he was diagnosed with COVID and admitted one of the medicines he was on was ivermectin.
“I realize I’m in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now,” Rodgers told former NFL punter McAfee and his former linebacker teammate A.J. Hawk. “So, before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I think I would like to set the record straight on so many of the blatant lies that are out there about myself.”
Rodgers took shots at the NFL media for ripping him and made it a point to say he would’ve explained himself if anyone asked him to explain what he meant when he said he was immunized. Additionally, he said he was allergic to some of the ingredients in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and chose not to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to some of its side effects.
“I’m not an anti-vaxx, flat-earther. … I have an allergy to an ingredient that’s in the mRNA vaccines. I found a long-term immunization protocol to protect myself, and I’m very proud of the research that went into that,” the Packers star added.
On Saturday, Prevea Health dropped Rodgers.
“Prevea Health remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers and communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” the company wrote in a statement. “This includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against COVID-19 to prevent the virus from further significantly impacting lives and livelihoods.”
