NFLPA Chief on Gruden's Racist Email About Him: Football Must Be Better

[babylonsister]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/demaurice-smith-responds-to-jon-grudens-racist-email-about-him?ref=home

NFLPA Chief on Gruden’s Racist Email About Him: Football Must Be Better
‘FIGHT IS NOT OVER’
Jamie Ross
News Correspondent
Published Oct. 12, 2021 9:38AM ET
USA TODAY Sports/Robert Hanashiro

The NFL players union chief who was the subject of a racist remark made by now former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden has issued a classy response to the revelations that derailed Gruden’s career. On Sunday, a bombshell Wall Street Journal story exposed a racist comment that Gruden made in a 2011 email about NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith. That was followed up by a string of other stories about Gruben’s use of misogynistic and homophobic language, and the Raiders coach announced his resignation Monday night. Smith has responded with a Twitter thread, writing: “The email from Jon Gruden—and some of the reaction to it—confirms that the fight against racism, racist tropes and intolerance is not over,” Smith tweeted. “This is not about an email as much as it is about a pervasive belief by some that people who look like me can be treated as less.” He added that “football itself has to be better,” and confirmed that Gruden had reached out to him since the remark was made public. Smith said they would “connect soon.”

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1447697994657239042%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailybeast.com%2Fdemaurice-smith-responds-to-jon-grudens-racist-email-about-him

[ProfessorGAC]

1. Football Is Already Better

Gruden is out, and has a rehabilitation of image probability asymptotically approaching zero.
If he's history, the NFL just got better.

[jcgoldie]

2. football IS better

At least racist bigots lose their job in the NFL when they are exposed, if it was just the United States 70 million people would vote for you for president.

[comradebillyboy]

3. NFL is covering up for Dan Snyder. The Gruden emails

came from evidence collected in the investigation of Dan Snyder and the Washington Football Team. Snyder had to turn control of the team over to his wife.

Now it will be interesting to see if Gruden goes away quietly or if he choses to make a stink. But Snyder is an owner and Gruden is just an employee.

[DinahMoeHum]

4. The ThreadReader App with all 4 tweets. . .

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1447697994657239042.html

The email from Jon Gruden – and some of the reaction to it – confirms that the fight against racism, racist tropes and intolerance is not over. This is not about an email as much as it is about a pervasive belief by some that people who look like me can be treated as less.

The email has also revealed why the comments by some with powerful platforms to explain this away are insidious and hypocritical. It is as if there is a need to protect football above the values of equality, inclusion and respect.

The powerful in our business have to embrace that football itself has to be better, as opposed to making excuses to maintain the status quo.

I appreciate that he reached out to me & I told him that we will connect soon, but make no mistake, the news is not about what is said in our private conversation, but what else is said by people who never thought they would be exposed and how they are going to be held to account