Black NFL coaches’ discrimination lawsuit against league WILL go to court despite Roger Goodell’s efforts
The NFL lost a major court battle to Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and other African-American coaches suing the league over allegations of discrimination.
In a 3-0 decision on Thursday, a federal appeals court ruled against the NFL’s push to force Flores and his co-plaintiffs into arbitration, where commissioner Roger Goodell would be the arbitrator.
Instead, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld Judge Valerie Caproni’s ruling that Flores can proceed with his lawsuit against the league and three of its clubs: the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the Houston Texans.
Circuit Judge Jose A. Cabranes previously shot down the NFL’s effort to force the lawsuit out of the courts, writing the league ‘provides for arbitration in name only,’ and is therefore not protected by the Federal Arbitration Act. Instead, Carbanes wrote, the league’s arbitration process ‘contractually provides for no independent arbitral forum, no bilateral dispute resolution, and no procedure.’
‘Instead, it offends basic presumptions of our arbitration jurisprudence’ by forcing claims into the hands of Goodell, who is the league’s ‘principal executive officer,’ Carbanes wrote.
The appeals court has now upheld that ruling, explaining the NFL constitution’s arbitration mandate was ‘plainly unenforceable.’
Brian Flores will not be pushed into arbitration, but can instead proceed with his lawsuit
The NFL’s attempt to offer an appeals process didn’t cut it one with three-judge panel
The NFL has since released a statement saying they ‘respectfully disagree with the panel’s ruling, and will be seeking further review.’
In 2022, Flores sued the NFL, Dolphins, Giants and Broncos, saying the league was ‘rife with racism,’ particularly in its hiring and promotion of black coaches.
Flores, who is of black and Honduran descent, brought the lawsuit after he was fired by Miami, where he led the Dolphins to a 24-25 record over three years.
According to the lawsuit, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told Flores he would pay him $100,000 for every loss during the coach’s first season because he wanted the club to ‘tank’ so it could get the draft’s top pick.
The lawsuit alleged that Ross then pressured Flores to recruit a prominent quarterback in violation of the league’s tampering rules. When Flores refused, he was cast as the ‘angry Black man’ who is difficult to work with and was derided until he was fired, the suit said.
The Dolphins responded to the lawsuit when it was filed by saying it vehemently denied any allegations of racial discrimination and was ‘proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization.’
Co-plaintiffs Steve Wilks (pictured) and Ray Horton, both of whom are black, supported Flores’s accusations of discriminatory hiring and firing practices by league teams
At the heart of Flores’ lawsuit is the league’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview outside minority candidates for top coaching and front-office positions. Flores believes this rule is simply a fig leaf to mask racist hiring practices.
To illustrate this point, Flores’ lawsuit included text messages from his former boss, Bill Belichick, in which the legendary NFL coach congratulated his long-time defensive assistant for getting the New York Giants head-coaching position.
The problem was, Flores had yet to even interview for the job.
Apparently Belichick intended to text another Brian, former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who had already interviewed twice and was ultimately hired for the position.
The text message from Belichick to his former assistant began with the Patriots coach saying, ‘Sounds like you have landed – congrats!!’
A confused Flores responded: ‘Did you hear something I didn’t here?’
‘I interview on Thursday. I think I have a shot.’
Belichick assured him that he does.
‘Got it. I hear from Buffalo & NYG that you are their guy. Hope it works out if you want it to!!’
Ray Horton is also among the assistant coaches suing the NFL over discrimination claims
Flores then told his mentor that he hopes he’s right before questioning whether Belichick has reached out to the right person.
‘Coach, are you talking to Brian Flores or Brian Daboll. Just making sure.’
Belichick quickly realized his shocking fumble.
‘Sorry. I f***ed this up. I double checked and misread my text. I think they are naming Daboll. I’m sorry about that. BB’
The now-shattered Flores signed off: ‘Thanks Bill.’
The story serves to argue that the Giants had made up their mind to hire Daboll before even speaking with Flores.
In a statement, the team denied Flores’s accusations of racism.
‘We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll,’ the statement said. ‘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.’
Flores included the Broncos in the lawsuit after a failed bid to land the top job in Denver following a 2019 interview in which he claimed President of Football Operations/GM John Elway and former Broncos executive Joe Ellis were late and ‘completely disheveled’ from an evening of heavy drinking.
The Broncos, who hired Vic Fangio in 2019 and fired him after the 2021 season, have denied Flores’s accusation.
Co-plaintiffs Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, both of whom are black, supported Flores’s accusations of discriminatory hiring and firing practices by league teams.
Flores’s lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Federal Court, included text messages in which Bill Belichick, his former boss, mistakenly congratulated him for getting hired by the Giants
Flores is currently the defense coordinator for the Vikings after serving as an assistant with the New England Patriots from 2008 to 2018. He was the Dolphins head coach from 2019 to 2021 before spending the 2022 season as an assistant to Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
Caproni appeared to side with the coaches in March of 2023 writing that the NFL has a ‘long history of systematic discrimination toward Black players, coaches, and managers’ which she found ‘incredibly troubling.’
‘Although the clear majority of professional football players are Black, only a tiny percentage of coaches are Black,’ she said.
Although NFL players are predominantly black, just 31 of 173 head coaches were African-American between 2000 and 2024, according to The Associated Press.
Currently the NFL has only a handful of black head coaches, including Tomlin, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Todd Bowles, Houston Texans DeMeco Ryans, and the Atlanta Falcons’ Raheem Morris.
