Brian Flores sues the NFL and three teams; alleges racism in hiring processes

Flores had a couple of winning seasons with the Dolphins, but it wasn’t enough to keep his job; other teams looked for him but suggests he just went to comply with the Rooney rule

NEW YORK – Brian Flores filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL and three teamsthe Dolphins, Broncos and Giantsalleging discrimination regarding his interview processes with Denver and New York and his firing last month by Miami.

In the 58-page lawsuit, Flores claims that the Dolphins owner Stephen Ross tried to incentivize him to deliberately lose games shortly after he was hired in 2019; Ross offered Flores $100,000 for every game the team lost that season. Flores alleges that when the team won games late in the season, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier informed him that Ross was “mad” that Flores’ success on the field “compromised the position [del equipo] in the draft.”

Additionally, Flores claims that Ross pressured him to draft a “major quarterback” at the end of the 2019 season, which Flores refused so as not to violate rules against tempting a player under NFL contract. Ross then allegedly invited Flores to his yacht for lunch in the winter of 2020, where he informed Flores that the “prominent quarterback” would “conveniently” arrive at the facility for an impromptu meeting.

Flores refused the meeting again and left the yacht. Subsequently, Flores states that he was “treated with disdain and presented as someone who did not deliver and who was difficult to work with.”

Finally he was fired on January 10, 2022, despite posting the franchise’s first consecutive winning seasons since 2003 (10-6 in 2020; 9-8 in 2021).

Flores also claimed that the Giants interviewed him last month for the head coaching vacancy for no reason other than to comply with the NFL’s Rooney Rulewhich requires teams to interview minority candidates for their open positions.

Flores says he interviewed with the Giants on Jan. 18, before the team hired former Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen as its general manager on Jan. 23. He claims that the next day, Schoen booked the interview he had for Jan. 27, and Giants co-director of player personnel Tim McDonnell texted Flores saying he hoped, “I’ll win the damn job.” .

However, hours later, he narrates the demand for Flores received a series of text messages from Patriots coach Bill Belichick., with whom Flores worked for 10 years in New England. In those texts, Belichick told Flores that he had heard from “Buffalo and NYG that you are his man.”

Flores then asked Belichick to clarify whether he wanted to speak with him or with former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who was also in the running for the Giants’ job. Belichick admitted his mistake and informed him that the Giants wanted Daboll.

“Sorry I screwed up. I double checked and misread the text. I think they’re naming Brian Daboll. Sorry,” Belichick wrote.

Flores alleges that his subsequent interview with the Giants was a “sham.” New York hired Daboll days later.

In a statement later Tuesday, the Giants released: “We are pleased and confident with the process that led to the hiring of Brian Daboll. We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact is that Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the very last moment. Finally, we hired the person we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach.”

Flores also claims that a scenario similar to what happened with the Giants occurred when he interviewed with the Broncos. for his vacant head coaching job in 2019. Flores alleges that then-Denver general manager, John Elway, among others, arrived for the interview an hour late and clearly hungover.. -since he claimed they had been “drinking heavily the night before”.

In the lawsuit, Flores’ law firm, Widgor Law LLP, stipulates that the coach hopes to “shed light on the racial injustices taking place within the NFL.”

Among the areas he said he would like to see addressed:

• Increasing the Influence of Black People in Hiring

• Increase the objectivity of hiring/firing general managers, head coaches, and coordinators

• Increase the number of black coordinators

• Incentivize the hiring/retention of Black general managers, head coaches, and coordinators

• Pay transparency for general managers, head coaches and coordinators

“God has gifted me with a special talent to coach American football, but the need for change is greater than my personal goals,” Flores said in a statement released by the law firm representing him in the case. “By making the decision to file the class action lawsuit, I understand that I may be putting coaching in the game that I love and that has done so much for my family and me at risk. My sincere hope is that as I stand against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me. to ensure that positive change occurs for generations to come.”