Buccaneers remove Jon Gruden from team's Ring of Honor amid email scandal

Oct. 12 (UPI) -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have removed former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden from the franchise's Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium.

Gruden, who stepped down as coach of the Raiders on Monday after the discovery of emails he sent that contained racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language, coached the Buccaneers from 2002-08. He led the organization to a Super Bowl title in the 2002-03 campaign.

"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have advocated for purposeful change in the areas of race relations, gender equality, diversity and inclusion for many years," the team said in a statement Tuesday. "While we acknowledge Jon Gruden's contributions on the field, his actions go against our core values as an organization.

"Therefore, he will no longer continue to be a member of the Buccaneers Ring of Honor."

In addition to capturing an NFL championship in his first season with the Bucs, Gruden's 57-55 record over seven seasons in Tampa Bay make him the winningest coach in franchise history.

The Buccaneers fired Gruden after the 2008 season. He was inducted into the team's Ring of Honor in December 2017.

After being fired, the 58-year-old Gruden remained out of coaching until he became the Raiders' head coach in 2018. He agreed to a 10-year contract with the franchise that was worth a reported $100 million.

The Raiders posted a 22-31 record under Gruden before his resignation.