Raiders, Jon Gruden a Step Closer to Learning Who Leaked the Infamous Emails in 2021

It’s been almost four years since Jon Gruden resigned as head coach of the Raiders, and on Monday we got a step closer to finding out who leaked the emails that led to Gruden’s coaching demise.

A Nevada Supreme Court initially ruled that Gruden’s civil lawsuit against the NFL should be resolved through arbitration, but Gruden filed a motion for a rehearing before the full court and on Monday that court ruled 5-2 in his favor.

According to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, the NFL is likely to appeal the outcome to the United States Supreme Court, but there is no guarantee the Supreme Court would take the case.

What that means is the NFL might be motivated at some point to reach a financial settlement with Gruden or risk Gruden’s lawyer’s opening up Pandora’s Box by forcing the NFL through the courts to disclose sensitive information – not the least of which would be the hundreds of thousands of emails that weren’t released in the Washington investigation.

Just as exciting would be the possibility of learning who actually leaked the emails in October of 2021.

“As it relates to the quest for the truth, it’s important that the case be litigated in court,” Florio said on Monday.

“That’s how everyone will find out how and why someone weaponized the Washington emails against Gruden. And why, more importantly, the attack happened during the regular season — thereby undermining the integrity of the entire campaign, as to all 32 teams. If the case is arbitrated, we may never know who ordered the proverbial Code Red against Gruden.”

Back in 2021, Florio reported that the NFL had been sitting on Gruden’s e-mails since at least June of 2021, and possibly longer, before releasing them during the regular season…

“Why did the Raiders get emails about which the league had known for months during the regular season?” Florio asked in 2021.

“If this had come to a head in, January, owner Mark Davis could have hired a new coach who would have spent the offseason preparing to move forward. If the league had waited until after the current season ended, Davis could have replaced Gruden then. Instead, the delivery of the emails to the Raiders — coupled with the making of just enough of them public — forced the team’s hand.”

“Let that sink in,” Florio continued. “Per a source with knowledge of the timeline, Washington owner Daniel Snyder went to the league office at some point in June to have, essentially, a hearing regarding the punishment he’d receive. Present for the hearing were the Commissioner and a small handful of owners. By the time that meeting happened, the league (we’re told) definitely was aware of the Gruden emails.”

If Florio’s information is accurate (and there is obviously a good chance the league had Gruden’s e-mails even sooner), there is no ethical explanation for why the NFL chose to wait until October on 2021 (during the season) to take down Gruden – not to mention the Raiders.

x: @raidersbeat