Former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the Dolphins, Giants, Broncos and the NFL on Tuesday that alleged racist hiring practices among several NFL teams.
After the lawsuit was made public, Flores told NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe that he felt this step was necessary.
“It was time to stop being quiet about the injustices that are happening,” Flores said. “This was long overdue. There’s plenty of racism that need to be exposed.”
Flores, who was recently fired by Miami after going 24–25 in three seasons, alleged in the lawsuit that he participated in “sham” interviews for the head coaching jobs with the Giants and Broncos as the franchises attempted to comply with the league’s Rooney Rule.
According to the lawsuit, then-Broncos general manager John Elway—who is now the team’s president of football operations—along with president and CEO Joe Ellis and other personnel were part of Flores’s interview process for Denver’s coaching vacancy in 2019. However, per the complaint, Elway and others allegedly showed up an hour late for the interview.
The lawsuit stated: “It was obvious they has been drinking heavily the night before... from the substance of the interview that Flores was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule... and the Broncos never had any intention to consider him as a legitimate candidate for the job.”
Denver ended up hiring Vic Fangio as its head coach.
Flores alleged he was involved in a second sham interview when Patriots head coach Bill Belichick mistakenly disclosed a text message to Flores, saying the Giants had already decided to hire Brian Daboll as their next coach last month, per the lawsuit.
Beyond the sham interviews, the complaint also alleged other malpractices, such as Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offering Flores a $100,000 bonus for each loss during the 2019 season with the idea that the team would finish with the worst record in the league and secure the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft. However, Flores says he did not carry out Ross’s task.
Since the lawsuit surfaced Tuesday afternoon, the Dolphins released a statement saying the franchise denied the report.
“We are aware of the lawsuit through the media reports that came out this afternoon,” the statement read. “We vehemently deny allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization.
“The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect. We will be withholding further comment on the lawsuit at this time.”
