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Ex-Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three of its teams citing racial discrimination in their hiring practices and tanking. Flores is suing the Denver Broncos and New York Giants alleging racism during their hiring processes.
Additionally, Flores is suing his former team claiming owner Stephen Ross offered him money in exchange for losing games on purpose. The Dolphins fired Flores on Jan. 10 following a 9-8 record in 2021.
Former Miami HC Brian Flores is suing the NFL, the Giants, the Dolphins and the Broncos for alleged “racism in hiring”, and he includes texts from Patriots’ HC Bill Belichick in the suit as evidence. Lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court seeking unspecified damages from NFL.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 1, 2022
On Wednesday morning, Flores discussed the lawsuit and his allegations in an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up. Simply put, Flores said that change is needed in the NFL.
The NFL released a statement on Tuesday night regarding the allegations.
NFL statement on Brian Flores’ lawsuit: pic.twitter.com/LaJVJuw3gS
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 1, 2022
Flores alleged that his candidacy with the Giants and Broncos was a sham so the teams could meet the requirements of the NFL’s Rooney Rule. The rule requires teams with open positions to interview minority candidates.
New York Giants
Flores was a candidate early on in many teams’ head coach searches, including the New York Giants. The Giants interviewed Flores on Jan. 27, but announced they were hiring Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll the next day.
On Tuesday, Flores released text messages exchanged between himself and Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick, who Flores was with in various roles from 2004 until 2018. Belichick texted Flores congratulating him on landing the Giants’ head coaching job. However, the message came before Flores had interviewed for the job, but after the Giants finished a second interview with Daboll. Flores asked Belichick to clarify, and Belichick apologized because he thought he was talking to Daboll.
During his television appearance, Flores explained the realization from Belichick’s texts were upsetting and confirmed his previous beliefs.
Flores alleges that this wasn’t the first time something like this happened to him.
Denver Broncos
In 2019, Flores became a candidate for the Broncos’ open head coaching position after the team fired Vance Joseph. Flores alleged that a group of Denver executives, including then-general manager John Elway, showed up late and hungover to the interview and did not take him seriously as a candidate. The team eventually hired Vic Fangio, who they fired this season.
After the allegations surfaced, the Broncos released a statement on Tuesday night.
Broncos’ statement today on Brian Flores’ lawsuit: pic.twitter.com/IFVBNhQLgq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 1, 2022
The Broncos hired Green Bay offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as their new head coach on Jan. 28.
Miami Dolphins
In his lawsuit, Flores claims that Ross did everything in his power to lose on purpose, including offering him $100,000 per loss.
Flores says he told Ross that he would never do that, and he would do everything in his power to win games.
In three seasons, Flores went 24-25 at the helm of the Dolphins, including back-to-back winning seasons in 2020 and 2021.
According to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, the Dolphins deny all of the allegations against them.
Brian Flores’ future
With the Houston Texans’ and New Orleans Saints’ jobs still open, there is a chance Flores could be hired for either of them. Flores says he is still interested in coaching for either team.
However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter says the lawsuit puts Flores in a complicated position and may never coach in the NFL again.
Additionally, Schefter explains that this lawsuit won’t just affect Flores or the teams named, but the entire league.
