Jon Gruden resigned as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach on Monday following a scandal stemming from a range of offensive comments he made in emails. That has led to a number of current and former NFL players sounding off on Gruden, including former Pro Bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes. In a sneak peek of the Fubo Sports Network series Drinks with Binks, host Julie Stewart-Binks asked Spikes his thoughts on the Gruden scandal, and he said he’s not surprised.
“They are who they are,” Spikes said. “I would to sit up here in front of you and say it’s disappointing, but with me being a Black man and I’m just speaking from the racist side, nothing is surprising. I would like to think that the U.S. had an opportunity to really see that racism is real. As much as it makes people feel uncomfortable to talk about, it’s real and it’s an uphill battle every day.
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“The sad part is I feel for the players inside of that locker room, especially the Black athletes. I feel for Carl Nassib. He was the first openly gay person to come out during the offseason.” Spikes went on to talk about what the country has been through over the last year and a half with the Black Lives Matter movement. He also mentioned what the NFL players did last year and stoop up the league for needing to have more inclusion.
Spikes also said it was good for Gruden to step down. “I can’t tell you I don’t know if a lot of players really would have played for him continuously throughout the season,” Spikes stated. And when it comes to the Raiders’ previous game against the Chicago Bears last weekend, Spikes is confident the players had a hard time playing for Gruden, and he had a big problem with Gruden’s press conference as he was trying to brush off the situation.
Gruden used racist, misogynistic and homophobic slurs in emails sent to then-Washington Football Team general manager Bruce Allen and other people between 2011 and 2018. After Gruden resigned as Raiders head coach, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers removed Gruden from the team’s Ring of Honor. Gruden was hired as the Raiders head coach in 2018, and it was his second stint with the team as he was the coach from 1998 to 2001. He also coached the Buccaneers from 2002 to 2008 and led the team to a Super Bowl win in his first year. Spike’s entire conversation with Stewart-Binks can be seen on the Drinks with Binks today at 5 p.m. ET and 5:30 p.m. ET on Fubo Sports Network or fubosportsnetwork.com.
