Judge rejects NFL attempts to dismiss Gruden suit against the league

A judge on Wednesday rejected NFL attempts to throw out a lawsuit filed against the league by former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden.

District Judge Joe Hardy denied two motions that each could have resulted in the case being dismissed. It was the first hearing since the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in August that Gruden could not be forced into arbitration.

Gruden resigned as Raiders coach after news reports about his racist, misogynist and anti-LGBTQ emails. The NFL has denied leaking the emails.

“It will come as no surprise to the court that my clients obviously vigorously disagree that any such communications took place,” NFL lawyer Kannon Shanmugam told the judge.

He added that Gruden was a public figure whose emails were a matter of public interest.

“Gruden does not dispute that the emails were his own, nor could he seriously do so in light of the fact that he apologized for the emails, he promptly resigned after their publication,” said Shanmugam.

Gruden’s attorney Adam Hosmer-Henner argued that the NFL was afraid of the discovery process.

He said the league could have filed its motion for reconsideration of a prior ruling to not dismiss the case when the case was assigned to a different judge. He suggested the NFL was “taking a second bite of the apple” and “judge shopping.”

Gruden sued the league and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in 2021, arguing the leaked emails he wrote had pushed the Raiders to fire him. He sought damages for tortious interference with his contract with the Raiders, negligence and civil conspiracy.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.