The day after the Miami Dolphins delivered a second consecutive winning season, their third under Head Coach Brian Flores, the team fired him.
On February 1, the ex-head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in the hiring and retention practices for coaching positions in the NFL. The lawsuit explicitly names: the NFL, the New York Football Giants, the Miami Dolphins, and the Denver Broncos, in addition to listing the other 29 NFL teams as John Does.
After filing, Flores issued this statement as reported via NESN: “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, [the game] 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 lawsuit makes several allegations against the Giants and Dolphins. It includes a text message exchange between Flores and New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick that led Flores to allege discrimination.
Within the text, before Flores had interviewed for the Giants’ open head coaching position, Belichick informs Flores that he thinks Brian Daboll was selected.
Due to the Rooney Rule, clubs are required to interview a minority candidate.
“Sorry – I [expletive] this up,” the text from Belichick to Flores reads. “I double-checked and misread the text. I think [the Giants] are naming Brian Daboll. I’m sorry about that. BB (Bill Belichick).”
That text was sent from Belichick three days before Flores would interview with the Giants.
According to Flores’ Attorney Doug Wigdor, the text is proof that the Giants were not serious about interviewing a minority candidate.
In response to the lawsuit, the Giants contend: “We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll. We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach.”
The lawsuit also alleges that this is not the first time that Flores believes that discrimination occurred during a head coach interview.
Flores claims that the Denver Broncos interviewed him under similar circumstances. He recalled that team executives were an hour late to the interview and showed up appearing disheveled and hung-over from drinking the night before. The Broncos hired Vic Fangio over Flores, and Miami subsequently hired Flores.
In a statement procured via The Associated Press, the Broncos denied that team executives were late to the interview and insisted that Flores was not part of a sham to get around anti-discrimination rules: “Pages of detailed notes, analysis, and evaluations from our interview demonstrate the depth of our conversation and sincere interest in Mr. Flores as a head coaching candidate. Our process was thorough and fair to determine the most qualified candidate for our head coaching position. The Broncos will vigorously defend the integrity and values of our organization – and its employees – from such baseless and disparaging claims.”
As the head coach of the Dolphins, Flores says that Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross tried to coax him to intentionally lose games during his first year as head coach in order to improve the draft standing of the team. The lawsuit details that Ross offered Flores $100,000 for every loss during the season.
The Dolphins released this statement, denying any wrongdoing by the team: “We are aware of the lawsuit through the media reports that came out this afternoon,” the Dolphins said in a statement. “We vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization. The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect. We will be withholding further comment on the lawsuit at this time.”
Flores has interviewed for several open positions since being fired on January 10, including an interview with the New Orleans Saints for the open position there.
“It was time to stop being quiet about the injustices that are happening,” Flores’ legal team said over the phone to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network. “This was long overdue. There’s plenty of racism that needs to be exposed.”