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Bucs remove Jon Gruden from Ring of Honor after hateful emails were exposed

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced on Tuesday that they are removing Jon Gruden from the team's Ring of Honor following Monday's New York Times report that exposed a multi-year history of racist, misogynistic and anti-gay emails written by the football coach.

Gruden coached the Bucs from 2002-08 and led the franchise to its first Super Bowl victory in 2002. Gruden resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders Monday evening shortly after the Times report was published.

The Bucs announced their decision in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have advocated for purposeful change in the areas of race relations, gender equality, diversity and inclusion for many years," the statement reads. "While we acknowledge Jon Gruden's contributions on the field, his actions go against our core values as an organization. Therefore, he will no longer continue to be a member of the Buccaneers ring of honor."

Gruden was inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor in 2017.

TAMPA, FL - DEC 18: MNF announcer and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl winning head coach Jon Gruden speaks to the fans as he is Inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor during the regular season game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 18, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Jon Gruden is no longer a member of the Bucs Ring of Honor. (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Monday's Times report revealed email exchanges between Gruden, former Washington Football Team executive Bruce Allen and others that started in 2010. The leaked emails were part of an NFL investigation into workplace misconduct at the Washington Football Team.

In the emails, Gruden referred to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as a "f****t" and a a "clueless anti football p****y." He criticized the NFL for its perceived pressure on the Los Angeles Rams to draft "queers," referencing the team's selection of Michael Sam in 2014 as the first openly gay NFL draft pick in league history. Gruden also criticized the league's hiring of women as referees and players who protest for social justice reform during the national anthem. He also shared photos of topless women, some of whom were cheerleaders on the Washington Football Team, per the report.

Monday's report followed a Wall Street Journal report from last week that showed Gruden wrote in an email that NFLPA executive director "Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin [sic] tires,” playing on an anti-Black trope.

Gruden's resignation concludes an NFL head coaching career that dates back to 1998 when he first coached the Raiders. He also worked as a "Monday Night Football" analyst for ESPN. The emails exposed in the probe were mostly written while he worked at ESPN.