Jon Gruden’s tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders ended abruptly and infamously. His leaked emails with homophobic, sexist, and racist slurs will— hopefully— keep him in ostracism from NFL circles forever.
Gruden made his fair share of controversial moves as soon as he got in charge of the team. Trading away Amari Cooper and Khalil Mack were just two of them, but cutting Marquette King also drew criticism at the time.
King’s larger-than-life persona and antics sure drew some Raiders fans nuts. But he was still one of the best punters in the league. Now, he claims he didn’t even get the chance to meet Gruden or his staff before finding out about his decision.
NFL News: Marquette King Opens Up On Being Cut By The Raiders
“As soon as I showed up, (then GM) Reggie (McKenzie)was telling me that Gruden doesn’t want me there,” King said, per ProFootballTalk. “We’re about to let you go, we’re gonna put you on the wire, and it’s gonna hit the news soon.”
“I never met the guy before,” King added. “I never talked to him. I never got a chance to meet any of them. I never got a chance to talk to any of them. It was just the weirdest thing ever. It actually kind of hurt. It felt like a loss.”
King Says Gruden Let Him Go Because Of Hate
King had a brief tenure with the Denver Broncos after his days with the Raiders, yet he could never re-establish himself in the league. Looking back, he claims that Gruden’s decision to cut him wasn’t football-related:
“Raiders felt like home. That was home. Staying in the bay was home. Wearing those colors, I couldn’t see myself wearing any other colors,” the punteradded. “I honestly should’ve took a year off. I was just so scarred from that, man.”
“Feeling like somebody just has a motive behind just letting you go. I honestly don’t understand. I think it was hate,” King said. “That’s what I feel like. That’s the only way you can be like that towards somebody if you never met them. I don’t know, some people just got hate in their heart.”
Well, while King’s personality was volatile, and he did pick up way-too-many flags for a punter, this wouldn’t be a shock coming from a guy like Jon Gruden.