This tea is piping hot with receipts! Brian Flores, former Miami Dolphins head coach, filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three teams — the Dolphins, the Broncos and the Giants — alleging they have engaged in racist and discriminatory practices against Black coaches.
In the suit, Flores alleges Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offering to pay Flores an extra $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season, and Ross trying to get him to recruit “a prominent quarterback” who was under contract to another team, violating tampering rules. Furthermore, the lawsuit also claims the Giants scheduled a fake interview with Flores last week to comply with the Rooney Rule. Flores also said the Broncos put him through a similar interview process three years ago, yet had no intention of considering him for the job.
“Mr. Flores was forced to sit through a dinner with Joe Schoen, the Giant’s new General Manager, knowing that the Giants had already selected Mr. Daboll,” the suit reads. “Much worse, on Thursday, January 27, 2022, Mr. Flores had to give an extensive interview for a job that he already knew he would not get — an interview that was held for no reason other than for the Giants to demonstrate falsely to the League Commissioner Roger Goodell and the public at large that it was in compliance with the Rooney Rule.”
The suit cites a text message as proof to his claim, from Bill Belichick — for whom Flores previously worked as defensive coordinator in New England — which showed the Patriots coach congratulating Flores for getting the Giants job, even though he had yet to interview. Belichick seemingly corrected himself the following day as he had texted the wrong Brian, meaning to text Brian Daboll. Daboll was announced as the new head coach the next day following Flores interview.
The NFL said in a statement that Flores’ claims “are without merit” while all the three franchises denied the allegations and defended their hiring process in separate statements.
Twitter & the sports world exploded with commentary as Flores dropped this explosive lawsuit on the first day of Black History month! Check out some reactions below.