Nev. court turns down NFL plea for Gruden rehearing

Don Van Natta Jr.Oct 2, 2025, 08:04 PM ET
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- Host and co-executive manufacturer of the brand-new ESPN series, “Backstory”
- Member of 3 Pulitzer Prize-winning groups for nationwide, explanatory and civil service journalism
- Author of 3 books, consisting of New York Times very popular “First Off the Tee: Presidential Hackers, Duffers, and Cheaters from Taft to Bush”
- 24-year paper profession at The New York Times and Miami Herald

The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday all turned down the NFL’s petition looking for a rehearing of an August choice that stated previous Raiders coach Jon Gruden might not be pushed into league arbitration in his claim declaring the league dripped destructive e-mails to the media before he resigned from the group in 2021.

All 7 justices signed the order declining the league’s petition for a rehearing.

The last legal resort left for the NFL is an appeal for the U.S. Supreme Court, which sources with understanding of the circumstance have actually informed ESPN is most likely. A league representative decreased to comment Thursday night.

In August, by a 5-2 judgment, Nevada’s high court did not figure out whether the league had actually dripped Gruden’s e-mails. A bulk of justices discovered that the league’s choice to require his grievance into arbitration procedures supervised by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell– the target of Gruden’s civil suit– was “unconscionable.”

As a previous staff member, Gruden needs to not have actually been bound by the arrangement in the NFL constitution mandating arbitration for such problems, the court ruled.

“By its own unambiguous language, the NFL Constitution no longer applies to Gruden,” the justices composed. “If the NFL Constitution were to bind former employees, the Commissioner could essentially pick and choose which disputes to arbitrate.”

Gruden’s suit declares that Goodell and the league pushed the Raiders to fire Gruden by dripping e-mails including racist, sexist and anti-gay remarks sent out by Gruden when he was an on-air expert at ESPN.

Gruden resigned from the Raiders in November 2021. He was their coach when the group transferred to Las Vegas from Oakland in 2020.

Gruden is looking for financial damages, declaring that selective disclosure of the e-mails and their publication by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times destroyed his profession and recommendation agreements.

Gruden’s lawyer, Adam Hosmer-Henner, stated Thursday that “we’re obviously pleased with the decision.” Gruden was not available for remark.

In August, after the Nevada Supreme Court choice, Gruden informed ESPN that the selectively dripped e-mails, which included anti-gay and racist remarks about Goodell and other league figures, interfered with the Raiders’ 2021 season, requiring owner Mark Davis to look for the coach’s resignation when the group was 3-1.

“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,” Gruden informed ESPN. “What happened wasn’t right, and I’m glad the court didn’t let the NFL cover it up.”