What bothers me most about this is the utter lack of grace in it. I won’t defend what Gruden wrote and he won’t either. At best it’s inappropriate locker room banter.
But there is no longer opportunity for a person to apologize, do penance if necessary, amend and move on.
In high school I made a bad joke about a black friend’s inability to swim. My black friends got mad as hell at me for it. I learned a hard lesson. They knew my heart, forgave me and we remain friends to this day. I don’t make such stupid jokes or comments anymore. I imagine there are hundreds of guys Gruden coached who know his heart and will receive his apologies.
But no. We can’t have that. The neo-puritans, with their pitchforks, condemn thee! Over. Done.