Supreme Court arguments in Gruden, NFL lawsuit pushed back

Oral arguments before the Nevada Supreme Court in the legal fight between the NFL and former Raiders coach Jon Gruden have been rescheduled for January, court records show.

Gruden sued the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell in November 2021, arguing that the NFL intentionally leaked derogatory emails he wrote and pressured the Raiders to fire him. The Supreme Court is now set to determine if the league is able to force Gruden into arbitrating the issue outside of court.

The league filed paperwork last month to postpone oral arguments, which had initially been set for early November. The arguments are now scheduled for Jan. 10.

The NFL has argued that the league’s constitution requires Gruden to go through an arbitration process in employee disputes. The process would be moderated by Goodell, another NFL official or an “arbitration service provider.” Although a lower court ruled that Gruden cannot be compelled into arbitration, the league has appealed the issue to the Supreme Court.

Gruden resigned as the Raiders’ head coach in October 2021 after The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times published stories about racist, misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ emails he had written. The NFL has claimed it did not leak the emails, and has disputed Gruden’s allegation that all of the emails leading to his departure were sent before he became the Raiders’ coach.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.