PALM BEACH, Fla. — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said there is no timetable in the league’s investigation into claims made by former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores that team owner Steve Ross offered him financial incentive to lose games as one of many allegations in his class-action lawsuit against the league and multiple teams.
Goodell, speaking at The Breakers in Palm Beach as the NFL’s annual meeting concluded on Tuesday, deferred to Mary Jo White, who is the former chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a former U.S. District Attorney and is leading the investigation, when asked for an update.
“I’m not doing that investigation,” Goodell said. “Mary Jo White is doing that investigation, and she will have our full support and support of the team. She will make the determinations on that, and there is not timetable for her to bring back a report. When we have it, we will certainly move forward.”
Goodell added that findings of the investigation will be made public if violations are found.
“A matter that’s integrity of the game, if we see something that’s a violation, we will certainly make that public, yes,” Goodell said.
Flores claimed that Ross offered him $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season, Flores’ first of three before getting fired following the 2021 season. The claim was part of a larger lawsuit filed on Feb. 1 that alleged racial inequalities in the hiring practices and retention for Black coaches pursuing prominent roles in the NFL.
Ross vehemently denied the allegations, putting out a statement late the night after Flores filed the lawsuit. Ross has not answered questions from the media since Flores’ suit was released, only speaking publicly when the Dolphins held new coach Mike McDaniel’s introductory press conference.
Ross attended the league’s annual meeting at The Breakers, but did not speak to reporters.
“With regards to the allegations being made by Brian Flores, I am a man of honor and integrity and cannot let them stand without responding,” Ross said in the statement released in February. “I take great personal exception to these malicious attacks, and the truth must be known.
“His allegations are false, malicious and defamatory.”
Flores made national interview rounds shortly after filing suit.
“That’s not something you make up,” Flores said, among several quotables on alleged experienced with Ross from interviews with CBS, CNN and ESPN. “To attack the integrity of the game, that’s what I felt was happening in that instance, and I wouldn’t stand for it. I think it hurt my standing within the organization and, ultimately, was the reason why I was let go.”
Later in February, Flores’ lawyers and the Dolphins got into a public back and forth over comments Flores made on the I Am Athlete podcast, which the South Florida Sun Sentinel participated in, and HBO’s “Real Sports” over a non-disparagement agreement Flores refused to sign when he was fired by the Dolphins.
A Dolphins’ statement read, in part: “This latest assertion by Brian Flores that Steve Ross mentioned an NDA to him is categorically false.”
Doug Wigdor, one of Flores’ two attorneys representing him in the class-action lawsuit, countered by releasing screenshots on Twitter of a separation agreement and payment termination notice he says were given to Flores.
Flores was fired on Jan. 10 after three seasons as Miami’s coach in which he went 24-25. The Dolphins parted ways with him despite back-to-back winning seasons of 10-6 in 2020 and 9-8 in 2021, ultimately hiring McDaniel as the franchise’s next head coach.
