Wednesday, February 02, 2022

A Black coach just sued the NFL for racial discrimination -- here are the most stunning allegations

Brad Reed
February 01, 2022


Former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the National Football League that alleged racial discrimination against Black coaches.

The lawsuit features several explosive claims that depict NFL owners as not being serious about hiring Black coaches -- and then working to undermine Black coaches on the occasions they do get hired.

Here are some of the most damning claims Flores made.


1.) Dolphins owner Stephen Ross didn't take Flores seriously as a long-term solution at the head coach position and urged him to deliberately lose to improve the team's draft position.

Flores alleges that, shortly after he was hired as head coach, Ross urged him to "tank" the team's season with the aim of securing the top overall pick in the draft.

In fact, Flores claims that Ross offered to pay him an extra $100,000 for each loss -- and was allegedly angry when Flores won too many games.

2.) Members of the Denver Broncos front office allegedly showed up appearing visibly hung over to Flores's interview.

In another example showing how NFL franchises don't take Black coaches seriously, Flores claims that former Broncos General Manager John Elway and other team executives showed up late to their interview with him.

What's more, Flores claims that the executives "looked completely disheveled, and it was obvious that they had [been] drinking heavily the night before."

Flores then alleged that it was clear that they only bothered interviewing him to fulfill a quota that states teams must interview a certain number of Black coaches.

3. Text messages appear to show that the New York Giants had already decided to hire a white coach even before they brought Flores in for what he believes was another token interview.

In texting with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who was Flores's boss before he got hired by Miami, Flores expressed hope that he would get hired by the Giants.

Belichick, thinking that he was actually talking with recently hired Giants head coach Brian Daboll, congratulated Flores on getting hired by the team and he said that he heard from sources that "you are their guy."

Belichick realized his mistake and replied to Flores that "I f*cked this up" and "I think they are naming Daboll."

The decision to hire Daboll apparently occurred before Flores was even interviewed.

Read more about the lawsuit at The Sporting News.

Bill Belichick's Accidental Texts Surface In Lawsuit Alleging Racist NFL Hiring Practices

"Sorry – I f****d this up. I double checked & I misread the text," Belichick told former Florida Dolphins coach Brian Flores in one message.

By Sebastian Murdock
02/01/2022 

A number of accidental texts from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick are at the center of a class action lawsuit by fired Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who has made accusations of racist hiring practices in the NFL.

“Sorry ― I fucked this up,” Belichick texted to Flores, after accidentally revealing that Flores had not gotten the job of the New York Giants’ head coach ― before Flores could even interview for the position.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court against the NFL and three of its teams, Flores, who is Black, alleged that racist hiring practices by the league have left it racially segregated and “managed much like a plantation.”

Flores, who was fired last month by the Dolphins after leading the team to a 24-25 record over three years, said in the lawsuit that the league discriminates against Black coaches, denying them positions as head coaches and other roles. In the suit, Flores said he was fired from the Dolphins after he refused to hire “a prominent quarterback in violation of League tampering rules.”

“Even when Black candidates get hired for Head Coaching positions, a rarity, they are discriminated against in connection with the terms and conditions of their employment and compensation and terminated even as far less successful white Head Coaches are retained,” the lawsuit reads. “Moreover, Black Head Coaches are far less likely than white Head Coaches to receive second chances even as white Head Coaches are routinely hired by Teams even after they fail elsewhere.”

In the suit, Flores said the head coaching job for the Giants had been decided before he ever had a chance to interview. Brian Daboll was announced as the new head coach last week.

“The Giants had the chance to hire Mr. Flores, an eminently qualified Black man, to be the first Black Head Coach in the Giants’ nearly 100-year history,” the lawsuit reads. “Instead, the New York Giants made the decision to hire Brian Daboll ― and disclosed that decision to third parties ― during a time when the Giants were scheduled to still interview Mr. Flores and when Mr. Flores was deceptively led to believe he actually had a chance at this job.”

Flores released a series of texts between himself and Belichick in January that appear to show that Belichick knew Daboll had been picked for the job before Flores ever had the chance to interview. The texts to Flores were meant for Daboll, with whom Flores shares a first name.

“Sounds like you have landed ― congrats!!” Belichick wrote in a text sent to Flores.

“Did you hear something I didn’t hear?” Flores asked.

“Giants?!?!?!” Belichick texted back.

After Flores told Belichick that he had not yet interviewed for the job, Belichick replied that “you are their guy.”

“Coach, are you talking to Brian Flores or Brian Daboll,” Flores wrote. “Just making sure.”

“Sorry ― I fucked this up,” Belichick responded. “I double checked & I misread the text. I think they are naming Daboll. I’m sorry about that.”

Flores still interviewed for the job the following week.

“The Giants would likely have gotten away with this most insidious form of discrimination if New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick had not mistakenly disclosed it to Mr. Flores” via text message, the lawsuit reads.

In a statement, the Giants said the team stands by its hiring of Daboll.

“We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll,” the team said in the statement. “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 NFL said the claims in the lawsuit are “without merit.”

“The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organizations,” the league said in a statement. “Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit.”

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