Regardless of whether the NFL succeeds in its efforts to force as many cases as possible into arbitration controlled by the league, the mere existence of the tactic successfully delays the process of seeking justice.
Case in point: former Raiders coach Jon Gruden sued the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell in November 2021. Seventeen months later, the case is still stuck at the square-one argument that Gruden should be forced to air his grievances in the NFL’s secret, rigged kangaroo court.
Via the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Gruden’s lawyers recently submitted paperwork supporting a trial-court’s ruling against the league, in an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.
Gruden claims that the league and Goodell leaked emails discovered during the investigation of the Commanders and owner Daniel Snyder to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, in order to force him out as coach of the Raiders. Regardless of whether the league was behind the leak, someone weaponized those emails against Gruden -- and not many people had access to them.
So where is the truth more likely to come out, in open court or in closed proceedings over which the NFL presides? Think about other current high-profile defamation cases. What if a certain cable news network could have forced the massive defamation case against it into an arbitration process ideally controlled by the CEO of the company?
When thinking about the league’s habit of securing a rigged system within the context of other major companies and cases, the situation seems even more ridiculous. Why does the league so zealously shun transparency and potential accountability?
Do I even need to answer the question?
Although Gruden sent hateful emails and in many respects got exactly what he deserved, that doesn’t justify the abuse of an investigative process completely unrelated to the emails he sent. It’s possible that Gruden was wrong to send the emails, and that whoever leaked them in an effort to bring him down was wrong to do so.
Regardless, the issue should play out in the light of day, in open court and not behind closed doors where the truth likely isn’t even obtained, much less revealed.
