Jon Gruden had to go.
At a time when messages such as “It Takes All of Us” and “End Racism” are stenciled into every end zone in the league, when women have joined the ranks of front offices, coaching staffs and officiating crews and a player on his own team came out as gay, Gruden’s emails revealing racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments were antithetical to the modern NFL.
Gruden resigned as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, releasing a statement that said, “I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.”
His departure was the only acceptable resolution to this quagmire of his own creation because the NFL has made too much progress of late for Gruden to keep his job and roll back that evolution, suggested ESPN football analyst Booger McFarland.