The Madden NFL video game franchise is taking steps to remove former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden from the game, the series said in a statement.
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The move comes following the resignation of Gruden, who left the team following multiple reports that revealed emails from Gruden that contained racist, sexist, and homophobic comments dating back several years. While the real-life Raiders will replace Gruden with former special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, Madden will be using a “generic likeness” to swap out the model.
— Madden NFL 22 (@EAMaddenNFL) October 13, 2021
“EA Sports is committed to taking action in maintaining a culture of inclusion and equity,” the game’s official Twitter account said in a statement. “Due to the circumstances of Jon Gruden’s resignation, we are taking steps to remove him from Madden NFL 22. We will replace him with a generic likeness via a title update in the coming weeks.”
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Initially mentioned as part of a league investigation in the Washington Football Team’s toxic workplace allegations, emails from Gruden were released last week that highlighted racist comments he made regarding the NFLPA head DeMaruice Smith. While it was unknown what the team or Gruden would do regarding that, more emails eventually leaked a week later, with even more damning emails from the coach that would essentially force his resignation.
