SE Vegas News

Before Jon Gruden came back and took over coaching duties for the Las Vegas Raiders, the team had more Black players than anyone in the league.

A Twitter user by the name of Mark Mullen posted a tweet that said the issue should not be ignored.

“Systemic racism is real. And a great argument for why diversity should be a priority in organizations. The Raiders Had More Black Players Than Any NFL Team. Then Jon Gruden Took Over The Roster,” he wrote.

The blog Five Thirty Eight found that NFL teams led by Black managers have a tendency to have higher percentages of Black players.

When Reggie McKenzie, who is black, was general manager of the team in 2014, the Raiders team were 79.2% Black.

After Gruden came back from doing color commentary on Monday Night Football to return to a second stint of coaching the Raiders, he was seen as the team's “de facto football czar” and the number of Black players started to decline, ESPN reported.

While it isn’t unusual for head coaches to try and put their own stamp on the team they coach, Gruden managed to trade two of the team’s best players. He shipped off outside linebacker Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears and wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys. Both players are Black, were relatively young and had already made it to the Pro Bowl.

An investigation by the NFL into Washington Football Club for sexual harassment led to the finding of emails with explicit and bigoted language from Gruden to the team’s general manager, who were being coached by Gruden’s brother Jay at the time.

Quarterback Derek Carr, who is white, said he was in a state of limbo concerning his former coach.  

"It's hard because I love the man so much. I have family members that have done things. I think more than anything coach needs people to love him, but at the same time what's right is right and what's wrong is wrong," he said, according to a tweet by Levi Damien.