When the then Oakland Raiders hired Jon Gruden in 2018, Gruden immediately made a number of changes to the team. But one All-Pro who was among the cuts believes his release may have been made out of hate.
Appearing on 95.7 The Game this week, former Raiders player Marquette King recalled what happened when Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie called him into his office to cut him in 2018. King said McKenzie told him Gruden just didn’t want him on the team. more.
“As soon as I showed up, Reggie told me Gruden didn’t want me there,” King said. “We are going to let you go, we will inform you about the wiretap, and it will be in the news soon.”
King said he was hurt by the news that Gruden didn’t want to see him without even meeting him. He was ruled out of the All-Pro season for two years and averaged 48 yards per punt during that time.
“I’ve never met this guy before. I’ve never spoken to him… I’ve never had the opportunity to meet any of them. I’ve never had a chance to talk to any of them. It was the strangest thing. In fact, it kind of hurts. It was like a loss.”
King lamented that he was forced to leave the Raiders because the team felt at home. He said he couldn’t understand why Gruden was saying such things about him and wondered if he was just hated.
“The Raiders felt at home. It was a house. Staying in the bay was home. Wearing these colors, I couldn’t imagine myself in other colors,” he said. “To be honest, I had to take a year off. I was so scared of it, man. It feels like someone has a motive to just let you go. I honestly don’t understand. I think it was hate. That’s how I feel. It’s the only way to be like that towards someone if you’ve never met them. I do not know, some people just have hatred in their hearts.”
Unfortunately, King doesn’t get much support from the NFL world. Many people note that players are fired without meeting them all the time. Some also believe that Gruden did not like King’s ability to celebrate after the antlers:
Marquette King’s NFL career didn’t make much sense after she was cut. He appeared in four games for the Denver Broncos in 2018 before getting injured.
King was released after the season and did not play in 2019. He joined the XFL in 2020 and led the league in yards per punt over five games.
King tried to return to the NFL last year, but no one signed him.
Why do you think Jon Gruden wanted to cut Marquette King?
