Res Ipsa Loquitor (learned that in law school) was my immediate thought upon reading that Dennis Allen brought in Jon Gruden to help the @saints – and before anyone replies "but, but, but," remember this: I worked with both men. https://t.co/t5FQZAvQu8 pic.twitter.com/J3iquFXgnU
— Amy Trask (@AmyTrask) May 31, 2023
Well that’s interesting. Former Oakland Raiders chief executive officer Amy Trask had a low opinion of the New Orleans Saints’ decision to hire her old coworker Dennis Allen as head coach last year, and she doesn’t appear to be reconsidering her stance in the wake of Allen’s decision to bring in disgraced ex-Raiders coach Jon Gruden to visit the facility.
“Res Ipsa Loquitor (learned that in law school),” Trask wrote from her official Twitter account, “and before anyone replies ‘but, but, but,’ remember this: I worked with both men.”
It’s safe to say that Trask knows both Allen and Gruden well from their time together in the Raiders organization, or she at least believes she knows the content of their character. The Latin phrase she’s referencing means “the thing speaks for itself” and is a legal principle that says negligence may be inferred from the very nature of an accident in the absence of direct evidence.
So what did she mean by this? Trask disagreed with the Saints’ decision to promote Allen to head coach, and it appears she isn’t a fan of Allen’s decision to fly Gruden in for a consultation visit. But she wasn’t necessarily surprised Allen thought it would be a good idea: the act speaks for itself.
Allen has already defended his decision by saying he believed Gruden’s input could be valuable to the team, given his experience coaching Derek Carr before, and he isn’t worried about the pall that might be cast by linking the team to such a controversial figure. Gruden resigned after emails surfaced displaying flagrantly bigoted behavior. But if Gruden’s input can help the Saints win games, it’s a price Allen is willing to pay.
