Per multiple reports, former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden was handed another loss by the Nevada Supreme Court in his lawsuit against the NFL. Gruden filed a contract interference and conspiracy lawsuit against the league following his resignation as the Raiders head coach in 2021.
Gruden resigned when emails were leaked to news publications that showed the Super Bowl-winning head coach sent racist, homophobic, and misogynistic messages to a Washington executive. Gruden alleged the league and commissioner Roger Goodell were behind the leaks. Gruden also thinks there are more emails that would implicate many other people in the league.
In May, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled Gruden was ineligible to sue the league, and the former NFL employee had to seek remedy in arbitration.
Roger Goodell could preside over Jon Gruden’s case
Per the Associated Press, one justice was concerned that arbitration would allow Goodell to preside over a dispute involving himself and Gruden:
Two justices said Gruden understood the NFL constitution allowed for arbitration to resolve disputes, and said it wasn’t clear whether Goodell or a designated third-party arbitrator would hear Gruden’s case.
One justice wrote that allowing Goodell to arbitrate a dispute in which he is a named party would be “outrageous.”
That would appear to be a conflict of interest. Arbitration would make sense to resolve a dispute between a head coach and their owner. (Although the commissioner’s job is to work for the league’s owners.)
A Las Vegas judge originally sided with Gruden
At least one judge agreed with Gruden in 2022 that the league might have leaked only Gruden’s documents, and thus arbitration wouldn’t make sense. However, the league appealed the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court:
The league appealed to the state high court after a judge in Las Vegas decided in May 2022 that Gruden’s claim that the league intentionally leaked only his documents could show evidence of “specific intent” or an act designed to cause a particular result.
Former Las Vegas Raiders HC could go to the U.S. Supreme Court
Gruden can appeal his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Per Mike Florio (an attorney) of NBC Sports, that would likely end up in another loss for Gruden:
Gruden’s only remaining move is to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.
Good luck with that. Even if they take it (and they likely won’t), count on a 6-3 ruling that Gruden is required to submit the case to arbitration presided over by one of the people he has sued.
The Nevada Supreme Court ruling is a major win for the league (which just lost a major case in the Sunday Ticket trial last week). But it’s a troubling decision for the league’s consumers and employees. After all, the leaks appear to cherry-pick emails to target a certain sitting head coach.
