Lost amid all of the hoopla of Jon Gruden replacing the unfunny and annoying Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football is the fact that Gruden hasn't exactly always been a huge fan of the Worldwide Leader. See, back in 2007, when Gruden was still head coach of the Bucs, a reporter mentioned Bruce Gradkowski - one of Gruden's 27 quarterbacks on the team - in relationship to the Toledo University football point shaving scandal.
Gradkowski was never implicated in the point shaving scandal - which was just recently completed - but he was obviously still a question mark in 2007, since he had been the quarterback of the Toledo football team during the point shaving between 2004 and 2006.
Anyway, this is what Gruden said back in 2007 about ESPN's reporting, which had started to focus a bit on Gradkowski:
"I don't watch ESPN. I don't believe half the [expletive] people on the channel, personally – no disrespect. But if Bruce Gradkowski is throwing games in Toledo, how in the hell does he lead the NCAA in passing percentages? That is a crock. You know, these reports make me sick – really. I don't believe [there is] any truth to it, and I'll go to my grave believing that. I hope ESPN 3 or 4 has real sources behind this story, because it has nothing to do with the kid. He's a great kid. He wants to be great. This is very uncharacteristic, in my opinion, of 'professional' journalism."
Yikes. However, apparently money can make everyone friends again.
And by the way, this isn't the first time that this has happened, where ESPN has hired a guy who busted them up in the past. None other than Rick Reilly himself bashed ESPN back in 2004. Hear it for yourself.
Now Reilly's making $2 million a year courtesy of ESPN, and no longer quite as critical.
Moral of the story: Money solves every problem.
So what does Jon Gruden really think of his new employer? [Deadspin]
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