All hell broke loose back in 2003 when Keyshawn Johnson was deactivated for the final six games of the season. The Buccaneers even barred the wide receiver from their team facility after what reporters described as a “falling out” between Johnson and then-head coach, John Gruden. Eventually, Johnson was traded to Dallas.
Advertisement
Then, comments like “I was never Gruden’s Guy” and “He never liked me” began surfacing in 2004 from the star wide receiver. This intensified the claims even further about the feud.
Since then, Johnson has repeatedly claimed that his side of the story was overlooked. Well, at least, that was the case until the coach’s problematic emails became public in 2021.
That year, the New York Times reported on the multiple misogynistic and homophobic emails the coach had sent between 2011 and 2018. Working as the Raiders coach at the time, Gruden had no choice but to resign from his position.
During an appearance on All Facts No Brakes, Johnson rewound the clock and expressed how he was misunderstood and stereotyped during his time with the Buccaneers and Gurden.
“I don’t know if people got that right,” explained the former wide receiver, sharing how he was racially discriminated against during his feud with Gruden.
He continued:
“They looked at it and it’s the receiver from the West Coast with the board shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops. Black man going at a white coach; he’s got to be the problem.”
Johnson said that he never accused Gruden of being a bigot, but rather disliked his behavior during his time with the Raiders. He even went on to call him a “phony baloney” and described him as someone like a “used car salesman.”
That said, this isn’t the first time Johnson has publicly called out his former head coach. After all the troubling accusations surfaced in 2021, the former wide receiver made his feelings known to the NFL world.
Johnson called Gruden a “fraud”
The former NFL wide receiver entered the league as the first overall pick by the Jets and was later traded to Tampa Bay. Although he had a solid track record with his new team, his issues with the coach took center stage. However, most matters were handled behind the scenes, and even the player’s trade seemed to be a hush-hush affair.
The true story behind the feud only emerged when Gruden’s inappropriate and problematic emails came to light.
“He’s just always been a fraud to me,” Johnson told KJM. “From day one, he’s been a used-car salesman and people bought it because he inherited a team built by Tony Dungy and Rich McKay.”
He further called out his former coach, recalling the time when Gruden tried to steal the limelight after their Super Bowl win in 2002.
“Think about it, we won the championship and we’re standing on the podium in the Super Bowl, and the general manager’s trying to raise the trophy and the head coach takes the trophy away from him, basically says, ‘give me this, this belongs to me.'”
Johnson also alleged that the then GM, Rich McKay, left the team the following year in the middle of the season because of Gruden.
That said, after the resignation over the controversial emails, the coach has only served in advisory roles — initially for the Saints and currently, for the Milano Seamen.
As for Johnson, the star wide receiver retired from the league in 2007. Despite several offers from different franchises, the three-time Pro Bowler decided to hang up his cleats and later served as an analyst on ESPN.
