Mark Davis thinks Raiders were treated unfairly by the NFL over Gruden emails: ‘We’re used to it’

Wearing jeans, an old-school Raiders jacket and backpack, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis addressed national media members for the first time on Wednesday after the sudden resignation of coach Jon Gruden because of offensive emails.

Asked by Sports Illustrated at the NFL Owners’ meetings in New York if he thought Gruden and the Raiders were being treated unfairly by the league, Davis said: “We’re Raiders. We’re used to it.”

However, Davis also told the Associated Press on Wednesday, he doesn’t think the Raiders were targeted in the email probe and he also also didn’t commit to general manager Mike Mayock for the long term.

Gruden resigned on Oct. 11 after reports surfaced that he wrote several offensive emails over the course of several years. The leaked emails were part of the NFL’s investigation of the Washington Football Team’s misconduct probe. Two days after Gruden’s resignation, Davis, who has kept a low profile since the scandal began, told ESPN “Ask the NFL. They have all the answers.”

On Wednesday, Davis said he was upset with the timing of the leaks because the league had the emails for months. He said the team was unaware of the emails until a reporter informed them Oct. 7 (the Thursday before Gruden’s Monday night resignation).

Asked if he thinks the NFL should release the hundreds of thousands of other emails in the investigation of the Washington Football Team, Davis said he believes they should. He is the first NFL owner to publicly ask for transparency in the matter. The league has stated that it has no plans of releasing the information and there were no other offensive emails found in the probe.

Davis did say Gruden had to be held accountable for his actions and that he has been in contact with his former coach. “He’s hurt. He’s really hurt. And I understand that. But he understands the ramifications of what he said,” Davis told Tom Pelissero.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Davis said he reached an undisclosed settlement with Gruden. He was in the fourth year of a 10-year, $100 million contract,

Davis’ words will surely be of interest at the league offices. Will they make a difference? Probably not.