*ESPN analyst and former NFL superstar Randy Moss has weighed in on the racist email that was fired off by Raiders head coach Jon Gruden to NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Gruden sent the email to then-Washington Football Team general manager Bruce Allen in 2011, in which he wrote that Smith had lips like “Michelin tires.”
Moss said the controversy negatively impacts Gruden’s team.
“Now we have a bump in the road from leadership, coming from our head coach,” Moss said on “Sunday NFL Countdown”. “How can we focus going into a game where we’re uncertain where this is going?”
Watch the clip below.
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Randy Moss on Jon Gruden using a racist trope in an email: pic.twitter.com/rWcHeB60is
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 10, 2021
Like many NFL fans, Moss is waiting to see how the league will handle Gruden.
“The clock is ticking. We’re watching to see what the NFL is going to do about this, because like I just said, we’re tying to move forward to the 21st century with the National Football League,” Moss said.
The NFL denounced Gruden’s comment in a statement, saying that the situation will be reviewed for potential disciplinary action.
“The email from Jon Gruden denigrating DeMaurice Smith is appalling, abhorrent and wholly contrary to the NFL’s values,” the NFL’s statement read. “We condemn the statement and regret any harm that its publication may inflict on Mr. Smith or anyone else.”
Jon Gruden discussed the article with his players this morning. Here are his comments to me on the offensive email: pic.twitter.com/7gkNd5Rzzs
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) October 8, 2021
Meanwhile, in a statement to the WSJ, Gruden apologized, saying he was “really sorry” but that he didn’t recall writing the email, Complex reports.
“I was upset,” he said. “I used a horrible way of explaining it. I don’t think he’s dumb. I don’t think he’s a liar. I don’t have a racial bone in my body, and I’ve proven that for 58 years.”
Statement from the NFL: “The email from Jon Gruden denigrating DeMaurice Smith is appalling, abhorrent and wholly contrary to the NFL’s values. We condemn the statement and regret any harm that its publication may inflict on Mr. Smith or anyone else.” https://t.co/FSpVIv6D4t
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 8, 2021
In response to the report, Smith released a statement, saying: “This is a thick skin job for someone with dark skin, just like it always has been for many people who look like me and work in corporate America. You know people are sometimes saying things behind your back that are racist just like you see people talk and write about you using thinly coded and racist language.”
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