The Las Vegas Raiders haven’t been strangers to controversy over the last few years.
In 2021, head coach Jon Gruden resigned after emails emerged of him using homophobic, racist and misogynistic language in emails while he worked as an ESPN analyst.
Gruden was one of the NFL’s highest-paid coaches, having signed a 10-year, $100 million contract with the Raiders, according to salary tracking website Spotrac. He first coached the Raiders from 1998 to 2001, then won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. At the time, Gruden was 39 and then, the youngest coach to win the Super Bowl.
In one message, the former Las Vegas Raiders coach called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a “p*ssy” and a “f*ggot,” according to the Times. In another, he called Michael Sam a “queer” after the player was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2014, and Gruden said the league should not have pressured the team’s then coach to draft Sam, the Times reported.
Shortly before Gruden’s resignation, first-round draft pick Henry Ruggs was arrested ford driving drunk at 156 mph and crashing into a car killing 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog. The crash happened in November 2021. Prosecutors had said Ruggs’ blood-alcohol level was 0.16, which is twice the legal limit.
The former Alabama star wide receiver was sentenced to 3-10 years in a Las Vegas prison.
The Las Vegas Raiders attempted to start fresh by hiring former Patriots OC Josh McDaniels after the season when Gruden resigned, but there was a constant disconnect between the head coach and the team’s players.
McDaniels’ first year with the Raiders ended with a 6–11 record and the departure of quarterback Derek Carr.
On September 24, 2023 McDaniels came under intense criticism for kicking a field goal down by eight points with just over two minutes left, and then calling it a two possession game. McDaniels was fired from the Raiders on October 31, 2023, after a 3–5 start to the season. He finished his Raiders tenure with a 9–16 record. Following his firing, the NFLPA ranked McDaniels as the lowest rated head coach in the league for 2023.
The Las Vegas Raiders named Antonio Pierce their interim head coach and the team immediately started to play better, When the 2023 season came to an end, the team’s two biggest stars, Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams essentially gave owner Marc Davis no choice but to name Pierce as the team’s full time head coach beginning in 2024.
There are still plenty of questions about the Raiders heading into the new season, but it appears the dysfunction is gone, at least for now.
Las Vegas Raiders Star Maxx Crosby Supports Donald Trump After Assassination Attempt
While the constant distractions following the franchise seem to be in the rearview mirror, some may argue the team’s biggest star openly supporting Donald Trump for the upcoming presidential race could be controversial.
A 20-year-old shooter named Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire while Trump was speaking at a recent rally in Pennsylvania, wounding the 78-year-old politician and several others and taking the life of Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old husband and father of two.
Shortly after it became clear that Trump was okay and had avoided the worst-case scenario, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby took to X/Twitter to make his support for the former president clear.
Crosby shared a photo of himself with Trump along with a “GOAT” emoji
Crosby has been one of the top defensive players in the NFL since entering the league as a fourth-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019.
The Eastern Michigan product has made three Pro Bowls and earned two second-team All-Pro selections.
