EA has announced that it will be removing ex-Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden from Madden 22 following his resignation over homophobic and misogynistic emails.
The publisher shared the news of Gruden's removal on its Madden NFL Twitter account, where a statement from the company reads:
"EA Sports is committed to taking action in maintaining a culture of inclusion and equity. 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."
— Madden NFL 22 (@EAMaddenNFL) October 13, 2021
Gruden's resignation from the Raiders came after The New York Times unveiled a number of emails written by the coach in which, "He denounced the emergence of women as referees, the drafting of a gay player and the tolerance of players protesting during the playing of the national anthem." The emails uncovered by the New York Times came only a week after previous allegations surfaced claiming that, in 2011, Gruden had used racist stereotypes when talking about the NFL Players' Union Chief DeMaurice Smith.
The announcement of Gruden's departure from the team was made earlier this week on Twitter. "I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders," said Gruden as part of a statement. "I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone."
This isn't the first time of late that EA has taken to removing an athlete or player from one of its prolific sports games. Last month, the publisher confirmed that it had taken the French national team and Manchester City full-back Benjamin Mendy out of FIFA 22 as the player awaits trial amid allegations of rape and sexual assault.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
