Jon Gruden continues to feel the fallout from his email scandal. On Wednesday, EA Sports announced the former NFL coach is being pulled from the hit video game Madden NFL 22 due to him sending emails that included racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language. Gruden, who was the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, resigned from his position on Monday night.
“EA Sports is committed to taking action in maintaining a culture of inclusion and equity,” the game developer and publisher said in a statement Wednesday. “Due to the circumstances of Jon Gruden’s resignation, we are taking steps to remove him from Madden NFL 22. We will replace him with a generic likeness via a title update in the coming weeks.”
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The Wall Street Journal and New York Times published stories that said Gruden sent offensive emails to then-Washington Football team president Bruce Allen and others dating back to as early as 2010. At the time, Gruden was working for ESPN as the head analyst for Monday Night Football. He was hired to be the Raiders head coach in 2018.
Along with being pulled from Madden NFL 22, Gruden is no longer an honored member of the Tampa Bay Buccanneers. On Tuesday night, the Buccaneers announced that Gruden has been pulled from the team’s Ring of Honor. He was the Buccaneers’ head coach from 2002 to 2008 and led the team to a Super Bowl title in his first season.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have advocated for purposeful change in the areas of race relations, gender equality, diversity and inclusion for many years,” the team statement read. “While we acknowledge Jon Gruden’s contributions on the field, his actions go against our core values as an organization. Therefore, he will no longer continue to be a member of the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.”
Gruden originally was the coach of the Raiders from 1998 to 2001. After leading the Raiders to the divisional round of the playoffs, the Raiders traded Gruden to the Buccaneers in 2002. After his time with Tampa Bay and ESPN, Gruden signed a 10-year, $100 contract to coach the Raiders. This season, the team posted a 3-2 record through its first five games. In his career, Gruden won 117 regular-season games and five postseason games.
