Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman
Carl Nassib, who recently came out gay, took a personal day following
the resignation of the team's head coach over homophobic emails.
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden
stepped down on Monday after The New York Times reported on
emails he sent from 2011 to 2018. Messages sent to NFL colleagues
included homophobic, transphobic, racist, and misogynistic comments.
The emails surfaced as part of an
unrelated workplace misconduct investigation into the Washington
Football Team, the Times reported.
“I have resigned as Head Coach of the
Las Vegas Raiders,” Gruden said in a statement. “I love the
Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the
players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I'm sorry, I
never meant to hurt anyone.”
Raiders general manager Mike Mayock
told NBC Sports that Nassib had requested a personal day.
“He just said he's got a lot to
process, there's a lot that's been going on the last few days, and of
course we support that request,” Mayock said.
The Times reported that Gruden,
who was head coach when Nassib became the first active NFL player to
come out as gay, insulted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell with a gay
slur and criticized him for pressuring the Rams to draft “queers,”
a reference to Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by an
NFL team. Gruden also mocked Caitlyn Jenner for her transition.
Gruden publicly supported Nassib's
coming out earlier this year.
“I learned a long time ago what makes
a man different is what makes him great,” Gruden said at the time.