Former Raiders great admits comment could cost Gruden his job

Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown offered a beardown defence of longtime person Jon Gruden successful a vigor interrogation Saturday, but conceded the leaked email ungraded could punctual Raiders’ proprietor Mark Davis to instrumentality beardown action.

“There’s a anticipation that (Gruden) could perchance suffer his occupation implicit this if Mark Davis feels arsenic if this is thing that’s a problem,” Brown said successful a vigor interrogation connected SiriusXM NFL Radio.

“He loves Gruden, but helium loves things being close much than helium loves Gruden.”

A Wall Street Journal study connected Friday revealed an email Gruden sent to then-Washington Football Team president Bruce Allen successful 2011 was discovered during an probe into the workplace civilization of the organization.

In the email, Gruden utilized a radical trope to picture NFLPA main DeMaurice Smith.

“Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin tires,” Gruden wrote, misspelling the sanction of the brand.

The imagery of ample lips historically has been utilized to beforehand anti-Black and racist ideas. Gruden said Friday helium often uses the operation “rubber lips” to picture radical who helium believes are often untruthful and that the phrasing successful the email was an improvement of that term.

Brown, who played for Gruden from 1998 to 2001 and remains adjacent friends with the coach, supported Gruden’s claim.

“I’ve heard Jon usage the word rubber lips before, meaning that this guy’s double-talking, oregon he’s doing whatever,” said Brown. “That’s conscionable a word that helium uses.”

Urban dictionary, an online trove of slang expressions, cites the operation arsenic meaning idiosyncratic who “accidentally mangles the pronunciation of a connection owed to lingual clumsiness.”

Gruden was moving for ESPN astatine the clip of the email and said helium was frustrated with Smith’s enactment of the union.

“Rubber-lipped grew into Michelin Man,” Gruden said Friday, referring to the celebrated tyre institution mascot. “I went excessively acold with that, and I apologize.”

Brown said successful the interrogation helium has ne'er had immoderate acquisition with Gruden wherever his person came disconnected arsenic racist.

“Never, ever, person I gotten thing from him that made maine adjacent pause, to deliberation about, ‘Hmm, that didn’t travel disconnected right,’” Brown said.

“I deliberation if you cognize Gruden, if you cognize thing astir him, oregon if you’ve been astir him, particularly for the magnitude of clip that I’ve been knowing him, past you would person gotten a hint that this feline is not right. There’s thing that’s not close astir him. There’s nary mode I would person ever. The mode I speech astir Gruden, radical deliberation he’s my dada oregon thing due to the fact that I person that benignant of admiration for him.”

But Brown besides knows Davis and believes his beardown stances against intolerance could pb to him coming down hard connected the manager successful this case.

“If Mark thinks that there’s a occupation here, Mark volition marque a move,” Brown said. “That’s however superior Mark is astir this benignant of stuff. Mark is not going to play this racist stuff. He’s not going to let this worldly to happen.

“If helium feels arsenic if this is wrong, and I’m definite there’s going to beryllium immoderate subject … if there’s thing to this, and Mark believes, I judge Mark volition spell deeper than conscionable fining Gruden. There’s a anticipation that helium could perchance suffer his occupation implicit this if Mark Davis feels arsenic if this is thing that’s a problem.”

Davis enactment retired a connection done the squad connected Friday and said helium would person nary further remark pending a reappraisal of accusation received from the league, which is conducting an probe connected the matter.

“The contented of an email regarding DeMaurice Smith from Jon Gruden erstwhile helium worked for ESPN 10 years agone is disturbing and not what the Raiders basal for,” Davis wrote. “We were archetypal made alert of the email precocious yesterday by a newsman and are reviewing it on with different materials provided to america contiguous by the NFL. We are addressing the substance with Coach Gruden and volition person nary further remark astatine this time.”

Contact Adam Hill astatine ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ connected Twitter. Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter.