The Dolphins are pushing back on claims from Brian Flores that he was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement by owner Stephen Ross after his firing in January.
In an excerpt from an interview with Bryant Gumbel set to air on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” at 10 p.m. Tuesday, Flores says he did not sign a “separation agreement,” which is preventing him from collecting “millions of dollars” on the final two years of his contract, according to his lawyer John Elefterakis. Flores made similar comments in an interview on the “I Am Athlete” podcast released Monday.
“Just signing that, you know, separation agreement would have — really silenced me,” Flores says in the excerpt.
“This latest assertion by Brian Flores that Steve Ross mentioned an NDA to him is categorically false,” the Dolphins said in a statement Tuesday evening. “This just did not happen and we simply cannot understand why Brian continues this pattern of making unfounded statements that he knows are untrue. We are fully cooperating with the NFL investigation and look forward to all of the facts coming out which we are confident will prove that his claims are false and defamatory.”
Flores filed a class-action lawsuit on the first day of February accusing the NFL of racial discrimination in its hiring and firing process. The suit, which lists the NFL, Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos as defendants, also accuses Ross of incentivizing tanking, offering $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season. Ross has denied those allegations and commissioner Roger Goodell said the league will investigate those claims.
Ross and the NFL have since hired lawyers to prepare their defense against Flores’ allegations.
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced last Saturday that Flores has been hired as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach. Flores’ lawyers said he will continue to pursue the lawsuit despite getting another job in the NFL.
