After Gruden resigns, NFL probes how it can improve its culture
When Shad Khan set out more than a decade ago to become the first member of an ethnic minority to own an NFL team, the Pakistani-American heard the scuttlebutt.
鈥淭he conjecture was, 鈥榊ou will never get approved, because you鈥檙e not white,鈥欌�� Mr. Khan, now the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview this week.
His attempt to purchase a 60% stake in one club fell through, so 鈥渢he narrative that people had been giving to me kind of got reinforced,鈥� Mr. Khan said.
Undaunted 鈥� and, he says, encouraged by Commissioner Roger Goodell 鈥� Mr. Khan moved on and soon reached an agreement to buy the Jaguars. 鈥淕ot approved unanimously,鈥� Mr. Khan noted. 鈥淭he conjecture and what was going on 鈥� and the reality 鈥� turned out to be different.鈥�
Current and former players and others around the league have varying opinions about a key question that arose in light of the racist, homophobic, and misogynistic thoughts expressed by Jon Gruden in emails he wrote from 2011-18, when he was an ESPN analyst between coaching jobs, to then-Washington club executive Bruce Allen: Just how pervasive are those sorts of attitudes around the sport these days?
It鈥檚 certainly been a topic of conversation in locker rooms.
鈥淚鈥檓 not surprised those ideas exist. ... I guess I was a little bit surprised by that comfort level, sending an email like that to somebody. I would assume you鈥檙e pretty assured that they鈥檙e not going to be offended by it or surprised by it or have them say anything to you about the nature of those emails,鈥� said Corey Peters, an Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman in his 11th year in the NFL. 鈥淏ut I think it鈥檚 good for the league to have that come out, and guys be held accountable for the things that they say, even in private.鈥�
Mr. Gruden resigned as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night following reports in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times about messages he wrote demeaning Mr. Goodell, union chief DeMaurice Smith, and others, using offensive terms to refer to Black people, gay people, and women.
Some saw Mr. Gruden鈥檚 words as indicative of a behind-the-scenes culture that could persist in an industry where about 70% of the players are Black while more than 80% of head coaches (27 of 32) and general managers (also 27 of 32) are white 鈥� and all are men.
Among principal owners, only Mr. Khan and Buffalo鈥檚 Kim Pegula are members of minorities.
鈥淭he bigger issues aren鈥檛 unique to the NFL, but I think they are stark in the NFL: Who鈥檚 in positions of power? And who鈥檚 making decisions? When that is only one group, particularly people who are privileged, who are from the dominant group, then those are going to likely be skewed decisions and skewed world views,鈥� said Diane Goodman, an equity consultant.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to point to Mr. Gruden and go, 鈥極h, isn鈥檛 he terrible?鈥� and 鈥楲ook at the terrible things he did.鈥� But that doesn鈥檛 look at that larger culture, where people were participating with him. People were allowing these emails to exist. It really is about the whole culture and that sense, that I鈥檓 sure people have cultivated, to feel like, 鈥業 can say these things and they will be, at best, appreciated and reciprocated or, at worst, people may not appreciate them but nothing鈥檚 going to happen.鈥� And that is about privilege and entitlement,鈥� Ms. Goodman said. 鈥淭here is the assumption that 鈥業 can say these things to another white man who is going to think they鈥檙e OK.鈥欌��
Some, such as Seahawks six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner or Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins, found the whole episode more reflective of the country than the NFL.
鈥淚 hate to say it like this, but that鈥檚 just the world we live in. That鈥檚 America,鈥� said Mr. Dawkins, whose first two seasons in Philadelphia coincided with Mr. Gruden鈥檚 last two as the Eagles鈥� offensive coordinator. 鈥淚 believe if [the emails were known about] in 2011, then maybe the backlash is not as severe as it is now. I think where we are in the climate that we鈥檙e in, the things that we鈥檝e gone through in the last, maybe, three years with social injustice and all those things, a lot of people are waking up to some of the things that have been normal for too long.鈥�
Said Mr. Wagner: 鈥淭here are people out there like that, that speak that way, that have that mindset, that have not grown. It鈥檚 not just football, it鈥檚 not just NFL ownership or coaches or anything like that.鈥�
Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons raised the point that representation matters: 鈥淵ou get different backgrounds, you get different opinions.鈥�
He also thinks his job鈥檚 workplace culture is improving.
鈥淧rogress has been made. Whether it鈥檚 good enough or not good enough, I won鈥檛 go into details about that,鈥� said Mr. Simmons, who entered the NFL in 2016. 鈥淚鈥檓 a firm believer that as long as we鈥檙e taking steps in the right direction, that has to be positive, right?鈥�
Former defensive end Mike Flores figures the sentiments found in the emails, which were gathered during an investigation into sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct at the Washington Football Team, do not represent merely one man鈥檚 mindset.
鈥淚 know how people talk and joke around in locker rooms. Most people in the NFL would be highly scrutinized if the 鈥榩olitically correct police鈥� examined everyone鈥檚 emails,鈥� Mr. Flores 鈥� who played college football at Louisville with Mr. Gruden鈥檚 brother, Jay, before spending five seasons with the Eagles, 49ers, and Washington 鈥� said in a phone interview.
Hugh Douglas, a defensive end with the Jets, Eagles, and Jaguars from 1995-2004, told the AP that Black athletes are 鈥渃onditioned鈥� to hearing 鈥渢he racial stuff鈥� and hypothesized that owners wouldn鈥檛 want their emails made public.
But Pat Hanlon, senior VP of communications for the New York Giants, tweeted, 鈥淏een in league 35 yrs. Have never heard that language in writing or verbally. I鈥檓 not na茂ve. Sure it has been there.鈥� He wrote 鈥渋t is not commonplace鈥� in a second tweet.
Reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers sees a generational gap between the folks in charge and those taking the field.
鈥淚 can say with real honesty and pride that I don鈥檛 feel like those are opinions that are shared by players. I feel like, in the locker room, it鈥檚 a close-knit group of guys. And we don鈥檛 treat people differently based on the way that they talk, where they鈥檙e from, what they鈥檙e into, what they look like,鈥� the Packers quarterback said on The Pat McAfee Show.
鈥淚 know that there鈥檚 probably opinions similar to [Mr. Gruden鈥檚], but I feel like they鈥檙e few and far between. I really do,鈥� Mr. Rodgers said. 鈥淚 feel like the player and the coach of today is a more empathetic, advanced, progressive, loving, connected type of person. ... Hopefully we can all, as a league, learn and grow from this and hopefully it puts people on notice who have some of those same opinions, like, 鈥楬ey, man, it鈥檚 time to grow and evolve and change and connect.鈥欌��
Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who is Black, was among those echoing that sentiment.
鈥淔rom my standpoint, what I love about the game is that it brings people together. It really brings people from all walks of life together,鈥� Mr. Flores said. 鈥淪o you hate to see anything that brings any type of division.鈥�
Speaking about what happened with Mr. Gruden, in particular, Jacksonville鈥檚 Mr. Khan said, 鈥淥bviously, these emails are disturbing,鈥� and quickly added: 鈥淢y personal experience has not been that way.鈥�
In the time since Mr. Khan agreed to purchase the Jaguars in 2011, he鈥檚 seen a change in the league鈥檚 culture, particularly with regard to social justice causes.
鈥淥ne hundred percent, I think the league is at the forefront,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd they鈥檙e going to be doing more.鈥�
This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽AP Pro Football Writers Dave Campbell, Schuyler Dixon, Josh Dubow, Mark Long, Rob Maaddi, Arnie Stapleton, Teresa M. Walker, Dennis Waszak Jr., and Barry Wilner, and AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham, Tim Booth, David Brandt, Tom Canavan, Larry Lage, Steve Megargee, Tim Reynolds, and Tom Withers contributed to this report.
