If Jon Gruden's only transgression was a racist comment, he'd probably still have his job

This is a column by Morgan Campbell, who writes opinion for CBC Sports. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

If the Jon Gruden email scandal had only contained one message, with one racist line about one person, the deposed head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders would probably still have his job.

Late last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2011 Gruden — then an ESPN analyst — wrote to then-Washington Football Team executive Bruce Allen, and called NFL Players' Association president DeMaurice Smith, "Dumboriss Smith." Later in the same sentence, Gruden wrote that Smith, who is Black, "has lips the size of michellin [sic] tires."

In some jobs, you can be outed as somebody who traffics in racist tropes one day, and return to work the next morning with minimal drama. A head coach in the NFL, where more than 70 per cent of players are Black, isn't one of those positions, and so Gruden embarked on some quick image rehab. He told reporters how little prejudice he harboured — not an ounce, bone or blade of racism, he said at various times.

Meanwhile, Black NFL legends like Tim Brown and Charles Woodson, who have each played under Gruden, spoke on the record about how not-racist their former coach is. NFL coach-turned NBC analyst Tony Dungy told Sunday Night Football's audience to accept the huffy apology Gruden offered after his team's 20-9 loss to Chicago. One current Raiders player, according to ESPN, offered Gruden absolution in the form of a hug.

Good for them. Especially the guy who hugged Gruden.

Wouldn't be me.