Jon Gruden's email scandal was 'a professional hit job,' Brent Musburger says

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Brent Musburger, the legendary sportscaster who does the radio call for Las Vegas Raiders games, revealed Wednesday what he told Jon Gruden about the email scandal that ensnared him.

Gruden was fired after misogynistic and racist emails were leaked to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal in October. He subsequently filed a lawsuit last month against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, alleging a "Soviet-style character assassination."

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Sportscaster Brent Musburger appears before a game between the New Mexico Lobos and the UNLV Rebels on Feb. 19, 2014, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Musburger appeared to agree.

"As I told coach, whoever took you out, Jon, that was a paid assassin," Musburger said in an interview with Las Vegas Sports Network's JT the Brick. "That was one of the best hit jobs that I’ve ever been around. They didn’t go to their media g-------. They didn’t leak this to Adam Schefter or one of those guys that breaks stories. They first went to the Wall Street Journal. And when Gruden was still coaching after that, then they dumped the rest of it on the New York Times. That was a professional hit job."

ANDRE RISON SAYS JON GRUDEN IS ‘NOT A RACIST’ AMID LEAKED EMAIL SCANDAL

John Gruden, then head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, before the start of a game against the Chicago Bears at Allegiant Stadium on Oct. 10, 2021, in Paradise, Nevada. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)

"There was a second lawsuit involved, OK? Between the owner, [Daniel] Snyder of Washington, and a former general manager. And that means that a lot of outside people had access to those emails that they were going through. So I think the hardest part for Gruden’s lawyers to prove is that somebody from the National Football League actually leaked that. Because if it is somebody from the NFL, shame on them. Because Mark Davis should have been told in the summer, when he had something to do about it."

The NFL and Washington Football Team have denied leaking emails.

Gruden and the Raiders parted ways last month after a litany of emails were leaked and published in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Gruden exchanged racist and misogynistic messages with then-Washington team president Bruce Allen while working for ESPN. 

Brent Musburger speaks before unveiling the VSiN broadcasting studio at the South Point Hotel & Casino sports book on Feb. 3, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The leaked messages created a firestorm and led to Gruden losing his job with the Raiders.

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Gruden apologized for his comments about NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and other remarks he made in the emails with Allen. The complaint also made note of support Gruden received from former NFL stars Randall Cunningham and Tim Brown, who are both Black.