Nevada Supreme Court kills NFL's argument in Gruden case - Discovery/trial will advance

The NFL's only option left to avoid a public trial and discovery (aka all of their dirty laundry getting aired out in public) is to appeal to SCOTUS... However there's essentially no chance they would take up such an arbitrary (pun intended) case...

7-0 Nevada Supreme Ct. Decision.

This is likely heading to trial unless Gruden settles... But it feels like he's playing for blood... Not money. He's going to find out who leaked those emails.

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The Nevada Supreme Court unanimously (7-0) rejected the NFL's request to rehear its decision to allow Jon Gruden's lawsuit against the league to proceed in public. It's another significant win for Gruden, who sued the league and commissioner Roger Goodell in 2021, claiming a "malicious and orchestrated campaign" was organized to destroy Gruden's career by leaking his old emails that included offensive language. The lawsuit was filed shortly after Gruden resigned as Raiders coach.

In August, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gruden, 5-2, that the NFL Constitution and Bylaws' arbitration clause "does not apply to Gruden as a former employee and is unconscionable." As such, the case could proceed in public instead of going to arbitration as preferred by the NFL.

 

Article VIII of the NFL Constitution states the commissioner has "full, complete and final authority to arbitrate any dispute involving a member or members in the League or any players or employees of the members of the League or any combination thereof that in the opinion of the Commissioner constitutes conduct detrimental to the best interests of the League or professional football."

However, the decision from August noted that Gruden was no longer an NFL employee when he sued the league, so the arbitration clause did not apply. Furthermore, the ruling said the arbitration clause as a whole -- in which Goodell could rule over disputes involving his own conduct -- has "procedural and substantive unconscionability."

The Nevada Supreme Court judges did not rule on whether Gruden's claims are true or not.

The NFL appealed the ruling, as expected, shortly after it was delivered. Now, however, the league's appeal to rehear the decision has been denied. The NFL can appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, but the Supreme Court hears very few cases per year. The NFL had hoped that this lawsuit would go to arbitration to avoid potentially damning details becoming public, but it is rapidly running out of options. 

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