Mark Madden: Jon Gruden shouldn't be coaching, but NFL's hypocrisy is undeniable

Jon Gruden referred to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell by a homophobic slur.

Gruden decried the drafting of a homosexual player.

Gruden mocked transgender personality Caitlyn Jenner.

Because of all of that — and much more, as revealed in a series of emails between Gruden and Washington Football Team executive Bruce Allen — Gruden lost his livelihood.

Gruden resigned as Las Vegas Raiders coach. He almost certainly never will coach again. He won’t be hired as a TV analyst anytime soon, if ever.

Rapper Eminem has egregiously peppered his work with homophobic lyrics. But he nonetheless will perform at halftime of this season’s Super Bowl. He’ll be joined by Dr. Dre, who has admitted to assaulting women in the past, and Snoop Dogg, an admitted ex-drug dealer. Examine all their lyrics and resumes.

Gruden shouldn’t coach anymore.

But the hypocrisy is undeniable and goes beyond halftime of the Super Bowl.

It’s a lock that a vast majority of the rich, old, white men who own and run the NFL think and talk exactly like Gruden did in those emails.

Gruden is a sacrificial lamb, albeit one who deserves what he got.

Everything comes with a morality clause, unless you get a free pass.

Like Joy Behar of “The View,” who cracked wise about “penetration in the end zone” when the Raiders’ Carl Nassib came out as the NFL’s first openly gay player.

Behar walked back her “joke,” saying, “Make believe I never said it.”

Everybody did. But Gruden didn’t get that benefit of the doubt.

Nassib, ironically, played for Gruden. Nassib’s courage in coming out is underscored further by Gruden’s stupidity.

Gruden’s emails were discovered as part of an NFL investigation into the Washington Football Team’s culture, which has been fraught with toxicity, bullying and harassment. The Football Team was fined $10 million, but Dan Snyder still owns the franchise.

Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has 22 civil suits pending for sexual misconduct. Ten women also have filed police reports. Watson isn’t playing but is still on Houston’s payroll. He hasn’t been suspended.

Gruden’s emails included racism, most notably an insulting trope that targeted NFL Players Association boss DeMaurice Smith, who is African American.

During his tenure with the Raiders, Antonio Brown (formerly of this parish) called an executive a cracker. No big deal. Brown caught two touchdowns for Tampa Bay this past Sunday.

What about-ism is not my preferred form of debate. But it’s unavoidable when discussing Gruden’s implosion.

Those who gleefully wallow in Gruden’s demise argue that this isn’t exemplary of cancel culture but merely accountability.

Truth is, it’s a combination of both.

Accountability should be applied to all. The Super Bowl’s halftime show will indicate otherwise, as does Behar’s continued presence on “The View” and Snyder’s continued ownership of the Football Team. Watson will play again and get a ton of money to do so.

Cancel culture is applied selectively. It’s based on like and dislike as much as it is deeds and words.

Gruden had to go.

But he’s a scapegoat, an example, a trophy for those who want to look like they’re cleaning up the NFL.

Nothing has been solved. Gruden is just the pound of flesh the mob occasionally requires.

As for the Super Bowl’s halftime show, two options loom large: Up With People, or that dog and his Frisbee.