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Tearful Randy Moss responds to Jon Gruden email: 'National Football League, this hurts me'

Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss got emotional on ESPN's "NFL Countdown" on Sunday morning during a panel discussion about race in the NFL.

Moss was asked by host Sam Ponder how he might respond to a head coach who used racially tinged language like Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden did in an email a decade ago when referring to NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, who is Black.

The 14-year NFL veteran talked about how his "civil rights were kinda messed with in high school over the color of my skin." Then his voice began to quiver when addressing what it would be like to play for an NFL coach who did something similar.

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Randy Moss played 14 seasons in the NFL with five different teams and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Randy Moss played 14 seasons in the NFL with five different teams and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018.

"We talk about leadership. We give guys these big contracts because they want to be able of lead 70 men, coaches, equipment staff and managers to the No. 1 goal and that's to win a championship," Moss said.

"And for us to be moving back and not forward ... National Football League, this hurts me. The clock is ticking, man. I'm sorry."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Randy Moss tears up about Jon Gruden email on ESPN's "NFL Countdown"