Nevada Supreme Court sides with Jon Gruden in case vs. NFL, blocking arbitration

Jon Gruden won a battle in his ongoing lawsuit against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday, with the Nevada Supreme Court upholding a ruling that denied a motion to send Gruden’s complaint into the league’s arbitration process.

With a 5-2 majority decision, the court not only confirmed the previous district court ruling but also reversed a May 2024 decision by a Nevada Supreme Court panel that would allow arbitration.

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On Tuesday, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told The Athletic that the league will appeal the decision and request a rehearing before the Nevada Supreme Court.

The next step following Monday’s decision was for Gruden’s case to move forward in public instead of going to arbitration, unless the NFL appealed.

In a statement by the majority Monday, the court said the NFL Constitution’s arbitration clause “does not apply to Gruden” because he was a former employee at the time his lawsuit was filed, calling its use in this case “unconscionable.”

“By its own unambiguous language, the NFL Constitution no longer applies to Gruden,” the statement read.

The court also refused an argument that arbitration language in Gruden’s contract with the Raiders would prevent him from suing the NFL. “The presence of an arbitration clause does not bind a party to arbitrate any claim, with any other party, at any time,” the court said.

In a statement acquired by The Athletic, Gruden’s attorney, Adam Hosmer-Henner, said: “We’re very pleased with the Nevada Supreme Court’s decision, not just for Coach Gruden but for all employees facing an employer’s unfair arbitration process. This victory further vindicates Coach Gruden’s reputation, and it clears the way to swiftly bringing him full justice and holding the NFL accountable.”

Gruden sued the NFL and Goodell in November 2021 after he resigned as coach of the Raiders, a decision he made after racist, homophobic and sexist emails emerged from an investigation into the NFL’s franchise in Washington. In his suit, Gruden accused the NFL of leaking those emails “through a malicious and orchestrated campaign,” saying “the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell sought to destroy the career and reputation of Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.”

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Gruden alleged in the complaint that he was “forced to resign” in the wake of those emails becoming public.

Gruden sent the emails in question while he worked as a “Monday Night Football” commentator at ESPN from 2011 to 2018; they were sent to Washington’s president at the time, Bruce Allen. More than 650,000 Allen emails were reviewed as part of the league’s investigation into sexual harassment and workplace culture in Washington.

The NFL’s compulsory arbitration provision is found in two places: employee contracts and the NFL Constitution. In the employment contract, there is also a provision incorporating the constitution.

Gruden previously said in a signed declaration that he was “never provided a copy of the version of the NFL Constitution and Bylaws that was attached to Defendant’s Motion To Compel Arbitration.”

He also argued the arbitration provision in his employment contract was between him and the Raiders, not the NFL, and that the NFL arbitration process in the Constitution no longer applied to him as an ex-employee.

Either way, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that neither applies in this case.

“We conclude the arbitration clause in the NFL Constitution is unconscionable and does not apply to Gruden as a former employee,” the decision read. “Nor, in the circumstances presented here, can the NFL Parties claim equitable estoppel to enforce the arbitration clause in Gruden’s coaching contract with the Raiders. Because the NFL Parties cannot compel Gruden to arbitrate, we ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.”

(Photo: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)

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