Former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden appeared in public for the first time and addressed the email controversy that cost him his job last October. Gruden spoke Tuesday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Arkansas.

He said, “I’m ashamed about what has come about in these emails, and I’ll make no excuses for it,” he said. “It’s shameful. But, I am a good person. I believe that. I go to church. I’ve been married for 31 years. I’ve got three great boys. I still love football. I’ve made some mistakes. But I don’t think anybody in here hasn’t. And I just ask for forgiveness and, hopefully, I get another shot.”

Gruden called out the media, especially his former employer ESPN, during his address, telling the audience that they shouldn’t believe anything the media says. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding out there right now,” the 59-year-old coach said.

Gruden’s emails contained racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language, first came to light in a Wall Street Journal article Oct. 8.

Gruden, who had signed a 10-year contract worth a reported $100 million to leave ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth and return to the Raiders in 2018, resigned on Oct. 11, the night that The New York Times published an article that contained additional emails.

photo courtsey of Raiderswire

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