The NFL has officially appealed the ruling that denies the league’s effort to force John Gruden’s lawsuit against the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell to arbitration, per Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic.
“The NFL has formally appealed a Nevada state court judge’s ruling denying the NFL’s efforts to move Jon Gruden’s lawsuit to arbitration. The state judge only this week issued her written ruling after orally giving it in May following courtroom arguments,” Kaplan reports.
Gruden sued the NFL after his emails containing racist, sexist, and homophobic language were published last October.
The presiding judge, District Court Judge Nancy Allf, ruled from the bench that the case would proceed to court back in May. After four months of legal haggling between opposing attorney teams, that ruling has been made official.
Allf ruled the 10-year, $100 million contract signed with the Raiders in 2018 “limits arbitration to disputes exclusively between Gruden and the Raiders,” per Front Office Sports.
The league is expected to exhaust all possible appeals. The NFL is no doubt looking to avoid litigation that could reveal who leaked the emails between Gruden and former Washington executive Bruce Allen.
With that in mind, a possible settlement offer for Gruden could arrive at some point during these legal proceedings. Gruden has already reached a settlement with the Las Vegas Raiders.