Who is Bruce Allen? What role did he play in the Jon Gruden email scandal?

Jon Gruden is gone and things are not looking up for Bruce Allen. Ever since the news broke about Jon Gruden sending racist exchanges to Bruce Allen, the situation has predictably gone downhill. Further revelations emerged that he was the recipient of homophobic and misogynistic emails as well from Jon Gruden, and he allegedly also exchanged pictures of topless Washington cheerleaders with Jon Gruden. With Jon Gruden out of the picture, the spotlight is now firmly on Bruce Allen and his supposed acceptance of the kind of vile emails that he received.

Who is Bruce Allen, and what is his relationship with Jon Gruden?

Bruce Allen is the son of George Allen, a former Los Angeles Rams and Washington head coach, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. Bruce Allen followed his father into the NFL world, first as a player and then as an executive.

After being drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1978, but never making it onto the playing field, he became the head football coach at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Having led them to a 2-6-1 record, he failed upward, and in 1980, he became the head coach at the Los Angeles Thunderbolts in 1980.

He transitioned into a front-office role as an executive for the USFL teams Chicago Blitz in 1983 and Arizona Wranglers in 1984. In 1995, he joined the NFL as an executive with the Oakland Raiders.

It was during that time that he met Jon Gruden. Bruce Allen's connection to Jon Gruden also led to his transfer to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2003 season. The Glazer family wanted a general manager who was more at ease with Jon Gruden than previous incumbent Rich McKay.

After being fired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he continued his trend of never-failing downwards by being hired as the general manager of the Washington franchise. He remained within the organization until 2019, becoming their president in 2014, when he was fired after an abysmal 3-13 season.

Bruce Allen's role in the Jon Gruden emails controversy

The Washington Football Team was investigated by the NFL due to a toxic workplace culture, as alleged by their employees. Over the course of ten months, more than 650,000 documents were parsed, among which were emails from Jon Gruden to Bruce Allen. These very emails contained despicable racist comments with a topping of generous misogyny and appalling homophobia.

That Bruce Allen continued to exchange emails with such content is a damning indictment of his character. So far, as parts of the investigation have become public, Jon Gruden has had to step down. If indeed the NFL's objective is to improve a workplace culture that is tolerant towards people of color, women and people of varied sexual orientation, Bruce Allen should be the next to be disciplined.