News of former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden’s resignation spread like wildfire after it was revealed that he made racial, homophobic and misogynistic comments through e-mails.
The recent turn of events have come as quite a shock to those around the league and closely tied to Gruden. Among them is none other than Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay.
Gruden brought McVay into the NFL with his first coaching job when the pair were with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and have since remained close. While the latter may be focused on the team’s Week 6 matchup versus the New York Giants, the reach of this story called for a comment on the situation.
McVay briefly touched on the details of Gruden’s resignation and felt that they were nothing short of unfortunate, via Gary Klein of the L.A. Times:
“It’s really an unfortunate situation that’s gone on with the Raiders and coach Gruden,” McVay said. “I hated that so many people have been negatively affected by this. Thoughts and prayers are with all those people that are.
“And really just want to leave it at that and we’re focused on the Giants.”
McVay clarified that he is saddened by the situation and the negative effects that have come from it:
“All of the above,” McVay said. “I just think it’s a really unfortunate circumstance. So I’m sad for the many people that have been negatively affected. Anybody that was offended by this. There’s a lot of families there, a lot of things that go into this and there’s a lot of people that gave been affected by this. And that’s what I’m sad about.
“It’s kind of a sad commentary all around. It’s an unfortunate thing that we’re even talking about it right now.”
There is no question that the revelation of Gruden’s e-mails has left friends and colleagues in a tough position. It should also be noted that McVay’s uncle, Jim McVay, was reportedly a part of the chain of e-mails.
However, the Rams cannot afford to have any distractions with the 2021 NFL season in full swing. The team has Super Bowl expectations this year and is trying to avoid any potential missteps that could come back to haunt them in this competitive race for the NFC West title.
L.A. has perhaps their easiest three-game schedule of the year coming up and are looking to come out of it at 7-1.
