Electronic Arts is removing former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden from Madden NFL 22 following reports that he had used racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language in emails. Gruden resigned as the Raiders’ coach soon after the emails came to light.
“EA Sports is committed to taking action in maintaining a culture of inclusion and equity,” EA said on in a statement posted to the Madden NFL Twitter account. “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.”
This isn’t the first time EA has made changes to its hit football series in response to real-world events. In 2020, the company changed all references to the Washington Redskins in Madden NFL 21 after the franchise announced it would be dropping the brand. Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was removed from NCAA Football 14 and Madden NFL 25 after being convicted of first-degree murder in 2013. And former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was pulled from Madden NFL 15 after a video surfaced of him hitting his wife.
Gruden’s emails were included among 650,000 that were reviewed as part of an NFL investigation into workplace misconduct at Washington Football Team.