Former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden, for the first time, publicly addressed the email controversy that cost him his job last October.

Gruden, who filed a lawsuit against the NFL last year alleging the league singled him out, spoke Tuesday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Arkansas, saying he was going to be "honest" with the gathering.


"I'm ashamed about what has come about in these emails, and I'll make no excuses for it," he said. "It's shameful. But I am a good person. I believe that. I go to church. I've been married for 31 years. I've got three great boys. I still love football. I've made some mistakes. But I don't think anybody in here hasn't. And I just ask for forgiveness, and hopefully, I get another shot."

Gruden's emails, which contained racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language, first came to light in a Wall Street Journal article Oct. 8. He was on the sideline for the Raiders that weekend, before The New York Times published an article Oct. 11 that contained additional emails. Gruden, who had signed a 10-year contract worth a reported $100 million to leave ESPN's Monday Night Football booth and return to the Raiders in 2018, resigned that night.