Former Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores filed a federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination against the NFL, New York Giants and other teams on Tuesday, accusing them of living “in a time of the past” and paying lip service to minority hiring.
Flores, who is Black, was fired by the Dolphins after the recently concluded season despite his teams going a respectable 24-25, including a 9-8 mark in 2021 and a 10-6 record in 2020.
The termination was surprising, as Miami hadn’t posted consecutive above-average marks since a run of seven straight winning seasons under Jimmy Johnson and Dave Wannstedt between 1997 and 2003.
After Flores was fired from the Dolphins in January, he quickly became a top coaching prospect throughout the league and lined up an interview with the Giants.
But he claimed he was forced to endure a phony interview with the New York franchise — and the plaintiff says he has an incriminating text message from legendary New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick to prove it.
Three days before Flores interviewed for the job that went to Brian Daboll, Belichick allegedly texted him to say that the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator had already gotten the job, according to Flores’ complaint in the Southern District of New York.
“Sorry … I double checked and misread the text. I think they are naming Brian Daboll. I’m sorry about that. BB,” Belichick texted Flores, according to the lawsuit.
Representatives for Belichick and the Patriots did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment.
The NFL’s “Rooney Rule“ mandates that each team must interview a minority for a head coaching, general manager and top assistant coaching positions.
“The Rooney Rule is also not working because management is not doing the interviews in good-faith, and it therefore creates a stigma that interviews of Black candidates are only being done to comply with the Rooney Rule rather than in recognition of the talents that the Black candidates possess,” according to Flores’ attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor.
There is now just one head coach in the NFL who is Black — Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Giants insist they interviewed Flores in good faith and nearly hired him.
“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,” according to a team statement on Tuesday.
“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’ lawsuit also accused the Dolphins of demanding that he lose games — or to “tank.”
It’s a distasteful, but frequently effective pro sports strategy to make winning a low priority, so payroll can be kept to a minimum while being reward with high draft choices that could lead to success in the future.
“Indeed, during the 2019 season, Miami’s owner, Stephen Ross, told Mr. Flores that he would pay him $100,000 for every loss, and the team’s General Manager, Chris Grier, told Mr. Flores that ‘Steve’ was ‘mad’ that Mr. Flores’ success in winning games that year was ‘compromising [the team’s] draft position,” according to the complaint.
Representatives for the NFL and Dolphins could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.
“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,” Flores said in a statement on Tuesday.
“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.”
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Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
