MOBILE, Ala. — Brian Flores filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday against the Miami Dolphins and the NFL, alleging racial discrimination in its hiring and firing process, including a “sham interview” with the New York Giants after the Dolphins fired him last month.
The 58-page lawsuit — which was filed jointly by Wigdor LLP and Elefterakis, Elefterakis & Panek in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York — claims Flores, who was fired Jan. 10 after three seasons in Miami, was dismissed because of his reluctance to “tank” during the 2019 NFL season and his unwillingness “to recruit a prominent quarterback in violation of League tampering rules.” Flores is the plaintiff of the suit with the NFL and all 32 of its teams listed as defendants.
“In reality,” the lawsuit says, “the writing had been on the wall since Mr. Flores’ first season as Head Coach of the Dolphins, when he refused his owner’s directive to ‘tank’ for the first pick in the draft.” According to the lawsuit, Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross offered Flores $100,000 for each loss during the 2019 season.
The Dolphins offloaded the contracts of several high-profile veterans, most notably Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick, before and during the 2019 season, Flores’ first year as coach. The team finished 5-11 after losing its first seven games in 2019, including three wins in five games to end the season. Ryan Fitzpatrick started the first two games at quarterback but was benched for then-second-year player Josh Rosen in Week 3, who struggled mightily. Flores went back to Fitzpatrick in Week 7 and he started the rest of the season.
“The team’s general manager, Chris Grier, told Mr. Flores that ‘Steve’ was ‘mad’ that Mr. Flores’ success in winning games that year was ‘compromising [the team’s] draft position,’” the lawsuits says.
In a statement, the Dolphins said they “vehemently deny any 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.” In a league statement, the NFL said the allegations “are without merit” and it “will defend against these claims.”
The suit also alleges Ross pressured Flores to recruit a prominent quarterback after the 2019 season. Flores refused to do so, according to the complaint, and Ross, the winter of 2020, invited Flores to lunch on a yacht, where “Ross told Mr. Flores that the prominent quarterback was ‘conveniently’ arriving at the marina.”
Flores refused the meeting and left “immediately,” according to the lawsuit, and afterward was “treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with.
“In fact, Mr. Flores was ultimately terminated and subsequently defamed throughout the media, and the League as he was labeled by the Dolphins brass as someone who was difficult to work with. This is reflective of an all too familiar ‘angry black man’ stigma that is often casted upon Black men who are strong in their morals and convictions while white men are coined as passionate.”
Throughout Flores’ tenure, Miami reportedly courted multiple high-profile quarterbacks, most notably Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. Last year, Flores was constantly peppered with questions about the Dolphins’ not-so-subtle pursuit of Watson ahead of the trade deadline.
After Flores was fired, the Giants scheduled to speak with him for their head-coaching vacancy despite already making the decision to hire former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, according to the lawsuit. The interview, the suit claims, was only conducted to fulfill the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview two external minority candidate for head-coaching vacancies.
The lawsuit posts screenshots of text messages Flores allegedly exchanged with Bill Belichick, in which the New England Patriots coach mistakenly congratulates Flores for getting the job in New York when he actually meant to congratulate Brian Daboll.
Flores, the suit says, had not yet had his interview with the Giants.
“I hear from Buffalo & NYG [New York Giants] that you are the guy,” the text says. “Hope it works out if you want it too!” A later text says, “Sorry — I [expletive] this up. I double checked & I misread the text. I think they are naming Daboll. I’m sorry about that. BB.”
Last week, New York named Daboll, who is white, as its new coach.
“We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll,” the Giants said in a statement, according to ESPN. “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 out next head coach.”
Flores also claims he had a “sham interview” with the Denver Broncos in 2019, before Miami hired him. In the suit, Flores claims Broncos CEO Joe Ellis and John Elway, who was then the general manager in Denver, “looked completely disheveled, and it was obvious that they had [been] drinking heavily the night before. It was clear from the substance of the interview that Mr. Flores was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule, and that the Broncos never had any intention to consider him as a legitimate candidate for the job.”
Denver later hired Vic Fangio, who is white. The team fired Fangio after the 2021 season.
Flores interviewed for the Chicago Bears’ opening two weeks ago before they hired Matt Eberflus, who is also white. He interviewed with Houston Texans for their opening and is reportedly set to speak with the New Orleans Saints, too. In three seasons, Flores compiled a 24-25 record and led the Dolphins to consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2003.
With the suit, Flores is seeking unspecified damages, as well as changes to the NFL’s process for hiring and firing candidates to ensure more diversity in coaching and leadership ranks. Proposed measures include “creating and funding a committee dedicated to sourcing Black investors to take majority ownership stakes in NFL” and ensuring “diversity of decision-making by permitting select Black players and coaches to participate in the interviewing process for” GM and coaching candidates. Flores is also seeking to require NFL teams to “reduce to writing the rationale for hiring and termination decisions, including a full explanation of the basis for any subjective influences.”
After the firing of Flores and the Texans’ dismissal of David Culley, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin is the only current Black head coach in the NFL. Four of the league’s nine coaching vacancies have been filled, all by white men.
“God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals,” Flores said in a statement. “In making the decision to file the class action complaint, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game I love.”
