NFL accused of silencing Jon Gruden as shocking court ruling flips case

Jon Gruden, the former Las Vegas Raiders head coach, got a big legal win on August 11, 2025, when the Nevada Supreme Court ruled 5–2 that his lawsuit against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell can move ahead in public court.

The court agreed that the NFL’s arbitration clause is “unconscionable” and does not apply to Gruden now that he’s not an employee. This means the case won’t be hidden behind closed doors unless the NFL persuades the court to hold a rehearing.

Jon Gruden’s case can proceed after ruling

Claiming the league released prior emails to force his resignation, Jon Gruden first sued the NFL and Roger Goodell in November 2021. As the Raiders coach in October 2021. During his tenure as an ESPN analyst (2011–2018), the emails sent contained racist, misogynistic, and anti-gay material, which Gruden says were made public in a “malicious and orchestrated campaign.”

This, he said, hurt his reputation and endorsements. At first, a state judge in Las Vegas sided with Gruden, rejecting the NFL’s attempts to dismiss the case or push it into private arbitration.

But in May 2024, a three-judge panel of the Nevada Supreme Court ruled the case should go to arbitration. Then in October 2024, Gruden’s attorneys won permission for the full court to reconsider. On August 11, 2025, the full court reversed course and said arbitration would be unfair because Goodell, who is named in the lawsuit, could be the arbitrator or influence the process.

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Jon Gruden and the NFL ask for rehearing

The NFL responded quickly. On August 12, 2025, the league said it would ask the Nevada Supreme Court for a rehearing, claiming that the ruling threatens arbitration agreements in many industries and overlooked previous cases where arbitration continued after a contract ended.

The NFL’s lawyers argued that changing arbitration rules without warning and granting unlimited power to the commissioner is unfair. Jon Gruden, through his lawyer Adam Hosmer-Henner, commented on how happy he was about the ruling, saying it “vindicates Coach Gruden’s reputation” and supports employees who face forced arbitration. Gruden added, “I’m looking forward to having the truth come out, and I want to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else.”