Former Miami head coach Brian Flores is suing the NFL and three of its teams — the Broncos, Dolphins and Giants — alleging a pattern of racist hiring practices by the league and racial discrimination during the interview process with Denver and New York, as well as during his tenure with Miami.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court sought class-action status and unspecified damages from the league, the three teams and unidentified individuals.
Flores, who is Black, was fired last month by Miami after leading the Dolphins to a 24-25 record over three years. They went 9-8 in their second straight winning season, but failed to make the playoffs during his tenure.
Flores’ lawsuit alleges that the league has discriminated against Flores and other Black coaches for racial reasons, denying them positions as head coaches, offensive and defensive coordinators and quarterbacks coaches, as well as general managers.
“It was time to stop being quiet about the injustices that are happening,” Flores’ team said over the phone to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. “This was long overdue. There’s plenty of racism that need to be exposed.”
Flores added in a release put out by the law firm representing him: “God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals. In making the decision to file the class action complaint today, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game that I love and that has done so much for my family and me. My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”
The NFL released a statement Tuesday, stating it will defend itself against the claims in Flores’ suit.
“The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organizations,” the statement read. “Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit.”
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
