EA Sports to Scrub Jon Gruden From ‘Madden NFL 22’

EA Sports plans to remove Jon Gruden from “Madden NFL 22” and “replace him with a generic likeness.”

The swap will happen “in the coming weeks” via a title update, the company said on Wednesday.

“EA Sports in committed to taking action in maintaining a culture of inclusion and equity,” a statement read. “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.”

Gruden used racist and homophobic slurs in emails with those in the league during his days as a broadcaster for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” a recent New York Times report found.

Shortly after the story came out, Gruden stepped down as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

In 2011, Gruden used racist terms to denounce DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association. When asked about it over the weekend, Gruden admitted he went too far but said he didn’t have “a blade of racism” in his body.

The Times found multiple instances of Gruden using derogatory terms in emails with those around the league, including former Washington Football Team executive Bruce Allen. Gruden criticized players who knelt during the National Anthem, denounced the hiring of female referees and in at least one instance, said that teams shouldn’t be pressured to draft “queers” (a reference to Michael Sam, who came out as gay shortly before he was drafted by the St. Louis Rams).

In the emails, which spanned 2011-18, Gruden referred to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as a “faggot” and “anti-football pussy” and said that former player Eric Reid, who along with Colin Kaepernick was one of the most notable players who protested during the National Anthem, should be fired.

See the EA Sports tweet below.