The U.S. Supreme Court denied on Tuesday a bid by the NFL to keep a discrimination case brought against the league by coach Brian Flores out of court.
Flores, who is Black, is the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings and the former head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He sued the league in 2022, alleging discrimination in the league’s hiring practices for coaches and executives.
Advertisement
In the class-action lawsuit that also names the Dolphins, Denver Broncos and New York Giants as defendants, Flores described the NFL as “rife with racism” and “managed much like a plantation.”
From the lawsuit, which Flores filed after being fired by the Dolphins following the 2021 season:
“While racial barriers have been eroded in many areas, Defendant the National Football League (“NFL” or the “League”) lives in a time of the past. As described throughout this Class Action Complaint, the NFL remains rife with racism, particularly when it comes to the hiring and retention of Black Head Coaches, Coordinators and General Managers.”
The NFL responded that Flores’ lawsuit is “without merit” and stated that “diversity is core to everything we do.”
NFL attempted to keep dispute out of court
The NFL has attempted to settle the dispute through league-controlled arbitration and fought to keep it out of court.
Lower courts had previously sided with the plaintiffs, and the NFL appealed to the Supreme Court to keep the dispute out of the legal system.
The Supreme Court declined the NFL’s bid to keep Brian Flores’ discrimination case against the league out of court.
(AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Supreme Court denies NFL’s appeal
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in the dispute, upholding a lower court’s ruling to allow it to move forward in the Southern District of New York. Per the Associated Press, Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented from the Court’s decision not to hear the case.
Advertisement
Flores’ attorneys, David Gottlieb and Douglas Wigdor, issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision:
“We are pleased that the Supreme Court declined to accept the NFL’s appeal. The NFL must now accept that its commissioner cannot be the arbitrator over discrimination claims against the league and its teams. We look forward to litigating these claims in court.”
The NFL also responded to the decision via a statement:
“We respect the Supreme Court’s decision not to grant review. Regardless of the forum, we are fully prepared to defend ourselves as this matter proceeds.”
What the lawsuit states
In his lawsuit, Flores alleges that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 for each game that he intentionally lost in his first season on the job in 2019 in an effort to tank for the No. 1 pick in the draft. Flores states the he refused the offer.
The Dolphins fired Flores three seasons later in a dismissal that was widely unexpected following a 9-8 campaign that featured a seven-game win streak.
Advertisement
The Dolphins responded in a statement that they “vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination.”
Flores also alleges that the Giants interviewed him for a head coaching vacancy after his dismissal from the Dolphins solely to satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule mandate requiring that teams interview minority candidates and with no intention of hiring him.
The Giants instead hired Brian Daboll during that cycle and issued a statement that “Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour.”
Flores also accused then-Denver Broncos general manager John Elway and president Joe Ellis of showing up an hour late to interviewing him for head coach in 2019 when it “was obvious that they had drinking heavily the night before.”
Advertisement
The Broncos at the time called the allegation “blatantly false.”
More coaches have since joined lawsuit
Since Flores filed the lawsuit, coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, who are Black, have joined it.
Wilks is a former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals whom the Cardinals fired after his single season on the job in 2018. Wilks’ attorneys argue that he was hired as a “bridge coach” and not given a fair chance to succeed in the job.
The Cardinals drafted quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 pick after firing Wilks and hired Kliff Kingsburgy to replace Wilks as head coach. They responded that they “are confident that the facts reflect that and demonstrate that these allegations are untrue.”
Advertisement
Horton is a former NFL defensive back who worked as a defensive coordinator for the Cardinals, Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans in addition to various position coaching roles across the league.
He alleges that the Titans conducted a sham interview with him for their head vacancy in 2016 after he had worked two seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator. The Titans instead hired Mike Mularkey, who had previously served as the team’s interim head coach.
The Titans refuted the claim in a statement describing their 2016 head coach search as “an open and competitive process.”
