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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is apologizing after using a racially charged insult in a 2011 email.
In July 2011, Gruden (who then worked as a broadcaster for ESPN) was corresponding via email with Bruce Allen, the then-president of the Washington Football Team, theWall Street Journalreported.
In an interview with the newspaper this week, Gruden apologized for the email, saying: “I’m really sorry.”
He explained that he was angry about a lockout between the NFL and the players' union, which was potentially a threat to the upcoming season, and didn’t trust the direction that Smith had been leading the players.
He added that he had previously used the term “rubber lips” to describe people who thought were lying,WSJreports.
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“I was upset,” Gruden said. “I used a horrible way of explaining it. I don’t think he’s dumb. I don’t think he’s a liar. I don’t have a racial bone in my body, and I’ve proven that for 58 years.”
According to the newspaper, the NFL is reviewing the matter for potential disciplinary action.
In a statement to PEOPLE on Friday, a spokesperson for the league said: “The email from Jon Gruden denigrating DeMaurice Smith is appalling, abhorrent and wholly contrary to the NFL’s values. We condemn the statement and regret any harm that its publication may inflict on Mr. Smith or anyone else.”
DeMaurice Smith did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. In a statement toWSJ, he said Gruden’s remarks are “not the first racist comment that I’ve heard and it probably will not be the last.”
“This is a thick skin job for someone with dark skin, just like it always has been for many people who look like me and work in corporate America,” Smith said. “You know people are sometimes saying things behind your back that are racist just like you see people talk and write about you using thinly coded and racist language.”
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He continued, “Racism like this comes from the fact that I’m at the same table as they are and they don’t think someone who looks like me belongs. I’m sorry my family has to see something like this but I would rather they know. I will not let it define me.”
Also on Friday, the Raiders owner Mark Davispublicly released a statementcondemning Gruden’s remarks.
source: people.com
