Well, we were wrong.
We thought former Raiders coach Jon Gruden had exhausted all legal options in Nevada, and that his only path for trying to avoid mandatory arbitration of his case against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell led to the U.S. Supreme Court.
As it turns out, Gruden had one more move before asking the Supreme Court to take the case. Gruden, via Michael McCann of Sportico.com, has filed a motion for “en banc” consideration of the case by the Nevada Supreme Court.
Gruden previously lost before a three-judge panel, 2-1. He then moved for reconsideration. It was denied. The next step is to ask the full, seven-judge court to consider the issue.
The issue is whether the NFL can use its Constitution & Bylaws as the avenue for pulling Gruden’s lawsuit out of court and forcing it into the NFL’s secret, rigged, kangaroo court. Gruden claims that the NFL and/or Goodell selectively leaked emails secured during the Washington investigation, with the goal of getting him pushed out of his job. The league contends that the claims should be arbitrated because Goodell has full authority over any instances of conduct detrimental to the league. (Article VIII, Section 8.3(E) gives the Commissioner the “full, complete, and final jurisdiction and authority to arbitrate . . . [a]ny dispute involving a member or members in the League or any players or employees of the members of the League or any combination thereof that in the opinion of the Commissioner constitutes conduct detrimental to the best interests of the League or professional football.”)
Is the conduct detrimental to the NFL in this case the Gruden emails? Is it the leak of them during the season, in a way that undermined the integrity of that season? And can, as the Brian Flores litigation is currently attacking, the Commissioner properly serve as a fair decider of these matters?
In this case, the Commissioner is one of the defendants to the Gruden lawsuit.
Beyond the enhanced likelihood of a favorable outcome, arbitration lets the league keep it all under wraps. Not many people had access to the Washington emails. Someone gave them to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times with the goal of taking Gruden out. If the case is resolved through the NFL’s arbitration system, we’ll likely never know who did it.
As we’ve said before, Gruden could have pushed out before or after the 2021 season. Doing it during the 2021 season undermined the integrity of the season and any Raiders-related wagers.
Regardless of whether Gruden got what he deserved, Raiders fans didn’t deserve to have their season turned upside down while it was happening. There’s a strong public interest in having that information made available.
Frankly, that’s as good a reason as any to let Gruden’s case play out in court.