Jon Gruden is suing the NFL and the case could reveal who leaked the racist and homophobic emails that forced him to resign

• Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is suing the NFL.
• Gruden resigned after leaked emails showed he had used racist and homophobic language.

Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is suing the NFL and league commissioner Roger Goodell.

In a suit filed Thursday in Clark County District Court, Gruden alleged that the NFL plotted against him and ultimately forced him to resign.

"Through a malicious and orchestrated campaign, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell sought to destroy the career and reputation of Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders," the lawsuit reads in part.

Gruden was forced to resign in October after select emails, initially gathered as a part of the league's investigation into the Washington Football Team, were leaked, showing Gruden using racist and homophobic language.

In his suit, Gruden alleges that the league "attempted to create a distraction from the controversy over their handling of the Washington Football Team investigation by misusing documents from that investigation to publicly sabotage Gruden's career."

In the wake of the initial leaked emails, many have called on the NFL to release the entire trove of reportedly more than 650,000 documents that were collected as a part of the league's investigation into the Washington Football Team, but so far, the NFL has refused to make them public.

According to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, Gruden's suit could at the very least reveal who was behind the initial leak.

"Obviously, Gruden got what he deserved based on the content of emails he sent to former Washington executive Bruce Allen," Florio wrote. "However, the emails should not have been weaponized to take Gruden out. Through this litigation, much more undoubtedly will be learned regarding who leaked the emails, and why."

In a statement, the NFL dismissed Gruden's lawsuit.

"The allegations are entirely meritless and the NFL will vigorously defend against these claims," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, per PFT.