For years, Jon Gruden worked to get the NFL into open court. He took the NFL’s attempt to force the dispute into private arbitration all the way to the Nevada Supreme Court, which unanimously rejected the NFL’s stance. That fight was won by him. Therefore, it’s somewhat unexpected that his legal team seems to be applying the brakes now that the case is actually progressing.
During a hearing on Monday, Clark County District Judge Joe Hardy expressed his frustration. “I remain concerned with Gruden’s side’s delays and lack of cooperation, lack of compliance with the rules,” Hardy stated. He didn’t hesitate at all. Gruden’s side had informed the court that they wished to proceed swiftly, and the judge had previously decided in Gruden’s favor to permit the case to proceed. Hardy implied that the truth had been the reverse.
Discovery, the stage of litigation where both parties exchange documents, respond to written questions, and get ready for depositions, is the central point of contention. Long before anyone enters a courtroom, it is frequently where civil cases are quietly won or lost.
The NFL’s attorneys claim that Gruden’s team has occasionally been merely unresponsive to communications and has been slow to produce certain records. Hardy partially granted the league’s motion to compel discovery responses, which essentially asked the judge to order Gruden’s side to comply. This gave Gruden’s team seven days to provide the missing documents and supplemental answers.
The NFL presented the case in a straightforward manner: “The NFL Parties cannot defend this case with both hands tied behind their backs.” The process thru which litigants find the truth is called discovery, but Gruden does not want the truth to be found.” Hardy concurred with that description. It’s uncomfortable for a plaintiff to be in that situation, especially since the same judge will ultimately be making much more significant rulings regarding the case.
This has a backstory that is worth preserving. In order to remove him from his position as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Gruden filed a lawsuit in 2021, claiming that the NFL had purposefully leaked private emails he had written that contained racist, misogynistic, and anti-LGBTQ language. After the emails were made public, he resigned. It’s still unclear who leaked those messages and why. Gruden’s legal team has indicated that it plans to ask Commissioner Roger Goodell and a number of current and former team owners to testify. The NFL would much rather not provide testimony of that nature under oath.
This, at least initially, makes Gruden’s delays all the more perplexing. There’s a feeling that this case has always had the potential to lead to awkward disclosures for the league as well as for Gruden. The emails were the result of an investigation into the Washington Football Team, and it has never been made clear to the public how they got to the media. When done correctly, discovery could get closer to that solution. Gruden’s team may be managing more complexity than is apparent from the outside. As the NFL’s attorneys indicated, it’s also possible that Gruden would prefer not to turn over certain documents.
In addition, he is getting ready to resume his broadcasting career by providing play-by-play commentary for a preseason game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a local Tampa station later this month. It’s not at all like his ten years on ESPN’s Monday Nite Football; it’s a small gig in a local market. It’s unclear if it has anything to do with the lawsuit. It most likely doesn’t. However, witnessing someone fight a significant lawsuit against the NFL and return to NFL broadcasting at the same time is a peculiar detail in and of itself.
The case is progressing. The judge is observing. Gruden’s team now has seven days to demonstrate to the court that they are genuinely committed to discovering the truth, whatever that truth may be.
