In addition to losing his job as coach of the Oakland Raiders, Jon Gruden also lost his place in Madden NFL 22. Sexist, racist and homophobic emails are the cause. We take stock.
Mass is said for Jon Gruden
The world of sport is undoubtedly going through a sacred zone of turbulence in recent months.
After the Benjamin Mendy affair (Manchester City player), currently held in detention following multiple charges of rape of minors, it is today Jon Gruden who finds himself involved in a dark affair.
His name may mean nothing to you if you are not an American football fan, but the man was highly respected in the discipline, having notably won Super Bowl XXXVII, before returning to the field in 2018, as as coach of the Oakland Raiders.
This collaboration which was to last 10 years finally ends after 3 and for good reason, the former Quarterback was pushed towards the exit on Monday, October 11, 2021, after a series of emails with sexist, racist, homophobic and misogynist has been published by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Following the discovery of these messages dating from the 2010s, the interested party declared:
I made the decision to quit my job as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I love the Raiders and I don’t want to be the attraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff and supporters of the Raider Nation. I’m sincerely sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.
Messages based on “fagot” and “pussy”
Among the many messages published by the US newspapers Gruden frequently claims that Roger Goodell (commissioner of the NFL) is a real “fag”.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden also take it for their rank, qualifying the former and current President of the United States of “pussy” following their position in the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
EA Sports takes drastic action
Following these disclosures, Electronic Arts’ reaction was immediate. Jon Gruden has been removed with immediate effect from Madden NFL 22 as the developer explains on Twitter:
— Madden NFL 22 (@EAMaddenNFL) October 13, 2021
EA Sports is committed to taking action to maintain a culture of inclusion and fairness. Due to the circumstances that led to Jon Gruden’s resignation, we have made the decision to remove him from Madden NFL 22.
We will replace it with a generic lookalike via an update that will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Besides Benjamin Mendy, this affair also resonates with that of Pierre Ménès, who was withdrawn from FIFA 22 following statements by Marie Portolano having followed the broadcast of the documentary “I am not a slut, I am a journalist” on Canal +.
