“Jon Gruden’s insensitive remarks about DeMaurice Smith are an indication of the existing racism[s] at many levels of professional sport, “said Rod Graves, the group’s executive director, in a statement. “It also shows that the journey for African Americans and other minorities in sport is riddled with irrepressible mindsets at the highest level. It is our hope that the League and the Ownership will address this issue with a solution that matches those painful words. This is another turning point in a society full of cynical social blinkers where the intellectual skills and leadership of minorities are not respected. When will it end? “
