This week, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action complaint in the Southern District of New York against the NFL and most of its member clubs — specifically, the Dolphins, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos. In the complaint, Flores also said that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross tried to pay him bonuses of $100,000 per game that Flores agreed to lose in order to upgrade Miami’s position for the 2020 draft.
Initially, the league responded publicly, saying that Flores’ claims were “without merit.” Now, the league has responded more privately, with a memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell, in which Goodell seems to acknowledge that there may be some smoke behind that fire.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all clubs this morning regarding coaching diversity and admitted “the results have been unacceptable.” pic.twitter.com/Hyhwu0mEJY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 5, 2022
“Racism and any form of discrimination is contrary to the NFL’s values,” Goodell wrote. “We have made significant efforts to promote diversity and adopted numerous policies and programs which have produced positive change in many areas, however we must acknowledge that particularly with respect to head coaches the results have been unacceptable. We will reevaluate and examine all policies, guidelines and initiatives relating to diversity, equity and inclusions.”
The response from Flores’ attorneys was quite pointed.
Unfortunately, immediately after Coach Flores filed the class action lawsuit, the NFL and various teams reflexively, and without any investigation, denied the detailed allegations set forth in the 60-page complaint. As a result, when we spoke to the national media the following day we made clear that the NFL should view this class action lawsuit as an opportunity to engage in real change and confront the obvious reality.
The statement made today by the Commissioner is, on the surface, a positive first step, but we suspect that this is more of a public relations ploy than real commitment to change. For too many years, the NFL has hid behind the cover of foundations that were supposed to protect the rights of Black players and coaches, all while letting systemic racial bias fester in its front offices.
The NFL is now rolling out the same playbook yet again and that is precisely why this lawsuit was filed. We would be pleased to talk to the Commissioner about real change, but unfortunately he has not reached out to us to engage in such a discussion. In fact, nobody from the NFL has reached out to us. Absent such a discussion followed by unbiased and concrete change, we believe that a court or governmental agency must order a federal monitor to oversee the NFL as the NFL cannot continue to police itself.
Goodell also said in his memo that the league would appoint outside experts to thoroughly examine the NFL’s progress in these matters, and that “We expect that these independent experts will receive full cooperation from everyone associated with the league or any member club as this work proceeds.”
And that’s where things get a bit hilarious. Because while the NFL is dealing with the blowback from Flores’ complaint, it is also having to answer for itself in front of Congress regarding the toxic workplace environment of the former Washington Redskins and former Washington Football Team and current Washington Commanders.
NFL, Washington owner Dan Snyder acted in concert to block investigation findings
In Friday reports by ESPN’s Tisha Thompson, and Liz Clarke of the Washington Post, it has been revealed that the NFL and Washington owner Daniel Snyder entered into an agreement that any findings from Congress’ current probe into the team’s alleged history of sexual harassment cannot be made public by one entity without the agreement of the other. Congress has told the league that this is unacceptable, and subpoenas may be in the league’s future.
From Clarke’s report:
The existence of the document, which was obtained by a congressional committee investigating the NFL’s handling of the team’s toxic culture and released Friday morning, undermines claims that the NFL’s probe was impartial, the Democrats who released the documents said.
The agreement “may have been intended to prevent the public release of certain information related to the investigation absent the agreement of both parties,” the Democrats wrote in a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Friday, “meaning that either the WFT or the NFL could try to bury the findings of the investigation.”
Based on both reports, it seems entirely likely that Goodell lied about the nature of the Beth Wilkinson investigation (whether it was concluded with an oral or written report) to try and keep Congress off the scent.
For Goodell to play the “independent expert” card as the same time it’s being revealed that he and Snyder have acted in concert with a Common Interest Agreement simply shows how much the NFL thinks of the intelligence of its most justifiably ardent critics. The league clearly thinks this will go away quickly and quietly as so many other claims against the league have done.
Whether that’s true or not depends entirely on Flores, and his willingness to avoid settlements, and push the NFL into the discovery phase. Flores has already acknowledged that his NFL career is likely over as a result of his action, so the league had better buckle up for a more contentious battle.
Neither the Flores problem nor the Washington WhateverTheirNameIsThisWeek problem will be swept under the rug anytime soon.
