Judge Criticizes Jon Gruden Over Delays in His Lawsuit Against the NFL

Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden pushed to have his case against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell heard in court. He got that chance. Now the judge in the case says Gruden’s side has not been following the rules the way it should.

The judge made those comments on Monday.

Read This:

1

Giants’ Jaxson Dart Is Learning to Slide, and Brian Burns Likes What He Sees

2

Is Josh Allen Too Powerful in Buffalo? What NFL Insiders Are Saying

3

Jordan Turner Is Back and He Steps Into a Wide-Open Broncos Linebacker Race

4

Cowboys Sign Quinnen Williams to $105.9 Million Extension

What the judge said

District judge Joe Hardy said he was concerned about delays and a lack of cooperation from Gruden’s side. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the judge said Gruden’s team had told him months ago that it wanted to move quickly, but has done the opposite since then.

The judge also pointed out that he had ruled in Gruden’s favor earlier, when he decided the case could go forward instead of siding with the NFL. Given that, he was not happy to see Gruden’s side slow things down now.

“You’re saying you’re proceeding expeditiously, but clearly you’re not,” the judge told Gruden’s lawyers.

The order

Judge Hardy partly granted the NFL’s request. He ordered Gruden to hand over certain documents and to give fuller answers to written questions within the next seven days.

The NFL had complained that Gruden was dragging his feet in discovery. Discovery is the part of a lawsuit where both sides have to share information with each other. The league argued that it could not defend itself if Gruden held back what it was owed.

Why the case exists

Gruden sued the NFL after old emails of his were leaked to the media in October 2021. The emails contained offensive language, and the fallout led to Gruden stepping down as the Raiders’ head coach. Gruden’s lawsuit claims the NFL leaked the emails on purpose to force him out.

What it means

None of this decides the case. It is a fight over paperwork and deadlines, not the main issue. But it matters more than it looks.

The same judge who is annoyed with Gruden’s side right now will be the one making key rulings later. When one side keeps causing delays, it can hurt how the judge views that side going forward. For now, Gruden’s team has some catching up to do, and a seven-day clock to do it.