NFL Hires Obama-Era Attorney General Lynch To Fight Flores’ Racial Discrimination Suit

Topline

The NFL has hired former Attorney General Loretta Lynch to defend it against a lawsuit from ex-Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, according to league spokesman Brian McCarthy, tapping the first Black woman to serve as U.S. attorney general to combat Flores’ racial discrimination claims.

Then Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks on July 8, 2016, at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. Carolyn Kaster/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Key Facts

Lynch, who is now a partner at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, will work on the case along with firm chairman Brad Karp, according to McCarthy.

Flores, who is Black, filed a suit in federal court earlier this month claiming the NFL is “rife with racism” and Black coaches are subject to “sham” interviews for head coaching positions so teams can fill a racial quota required in the interview process.

The league has faced widespread criticism following Flores’ claims, including from President Joe Biden and members of Congress.

The league has denied Flores’ allegations.

Key Background

Lynch served as attorney general from 2015 until the end of Obama’s second term, succeeding Eric Holder. She took up several high-profile cases in her tenure as the nation’s chief prosecutor, including successfully bringing the first-ever death penalty case on federal hate crimes charges against Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black churchgoers in a 2015 mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. Lynch also oversaw investigations into the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, and the death of Eric Garner in New York City. In December 2020, the NFL hired Lynch to investigate allegations of misconduct by Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder. Snyder has recently come under pressure to sell the team over sexual harassment allegations.

Surprising Fact

The Dolphins fired Flores after the end of the 2021 season, despite the team posting winning records in back-to-back years for the first time since the early 2000s. Flores did not receive an offer for any of the eight other open head coaching jobs the NFL had after the end of the season. 

Further Reading

NFL Taps Ex-Attorney General Loretta Lynch to Fight Flores' Race Bias Suit (Bloomberg)

Calls Grow For Congressional Action Over Alleged Racism In NFL After Brian Flores Lawsuit (Forbes)

Ex-Dolphins Coach Brian Flores Sues NFL For Racial Discrimination (Forbes)