Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib decided to take a day for himself on Wednesday after the ouster of his head coach, Jon Gruden.
Gruden’s time with the Raiders came to an end this week after racist, homophobic and misogynistic e-mails leaked out stemming from the NFL’s investigation into the Washington Football Team.
“He requested a personal day today,” Raiders GM Mike Mayock said of Nassib, per Pro Football Talk. “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.”
This is obviously noteworthy because Nassib became the first active NFL player to come out as gay earlier this year.
At the time, Gruden was very supportive of Nassib’s decision.
“I learned a long time ago what makes a man different is what makes him great,” Gruden said at the time, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr also spoke out regarding the situation on Wednesday.
“Sad, I’m feeling anger,” he said. “I am human and I’m trying my best, to just focus on football, as hard as it is. I try to keep my mind as focused as I can or I’ll start drifting. It is just weird. That’s the best way to say it. It’s a weird time … It’s the biggest story in sports right now. You turn on the TV and it’s on.
“Again, I’m sad for the people who were hurt. Sad for (Gruden). I’m sad for our fans … You hate the action, but you love the person that’s why it’s so hard. He’s not around. It’s over. He’s not going to be around.”
Considering how much Gruden seemingly disliked Carr, the quarterback’s emotional reaction to his departure is a bit surprising.
That being said – clearly this is a trying time for many around the league. Reverberations from this e-mail scandal are being felt across the board. Everyone from Gruden’s son, Deuce, to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter was touched by it.
Dodgers vs Giants is a very exciting series. https://t.co/OPpiG1Tcsa
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 13, 2021
Opinions on Gruden’s expulsion seem divided. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is firmly on one side of the debate, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seems to be on the other.
One thing is for certain, though: the NFL reportedly received more than 500,000 e-mails. That means there are a lot of dominos from this scandal just waiting to drop.
Who’s going to be next? Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
We live in a very scary world when private things you’ve said 10, 20, 30 years ago can ruin your life today.
Not the kind of world I want to live in. Everybody from both sides of the political aisle should be up in arms about this
invasion of privacy. I guess people think it can’t happen to them.