NEW YORK — The NFL suddenly sees merit in Brian Flores’ lawsuit after all.
Last Tuesday, the league had callously dismissed Flores’ claims of racial discrimination in football’s hiring processes as “without merit.”
But on Saturday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to the league’s 32 owners calling the league’s lack of head coaching diversity “unacceptable.”
Goodell went as far as saying “we understand the concerns expressed by Coach Flores and others this week,” and he promised to “reassess and modify our strategies to ensure that they are consistent with our values and longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Flores’ attorneys didn’t buy the league’s sudden change of tone, though. Attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis responded by saying “we suspect that this is more of a public relations ploy than real commitment to change.”
Indeed, the point of Flores’ original lawsuit was to demonstrate that while the “well-intentioned” Rooney Rule exists to foster diversity, it is “not working” to afford fair opportunities and employment for Black and minority professionals in executive and coaching positions.
The lawsuit said the NFL has a “disingenuous commitment to social equity” and accused management of “not doing the interviews in good faith.”
“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 attorneys’ statement read. “The NFL is now rolling out the same playbook yet again and that is precisely why this lawsuit was filed.”
Mike Tomlin (Steelers) is the only active Black head coach following the firings of Flores and David Culley (Texans). And this 2022 NFL hiring cycle has only reinforced Flores’ premise of an uneven playing field.
Six of the league’s nine openings have been filled, all by white coaches: Matt Eberflus (Bears), Nathaniel Hackett (Broncos), Brian Daboll (Giants), Doug Pederson (Jaguars), Josh McDaniels (Raiders) and Kevin O’Connell (Vikings). Five of the six coaches come from the offensive side of the ball. Four were play-calling offensive coordinators this year.
The Dolphins, Saints and Texans jobs remain vacant. Coaches are scared of the Texans job because of the roster, ownership and leadership. Many believe Houston intends to hire recently retired quarterback Josh McCown, who is white and has never coached in the NFL.
New Orleans defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who is white, is believed to be the Saints’ leading contender. The Dolphins may end up hiring 49ers OC Mike McDaniel, who is biracial, or Cowboys OC Kellen Moore, who is white.
Two of the four GM hirings have been Black: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Vikings) and Ryan Poles (Bears). The Giants hired Joe Schoen and the Raiders hired Dave Ziegler.
“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,” the lawyers added. “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.”
The NFL has been called on its hypocrisy left and right in recent days.
On Friday, the Washington Post reported that the NFL and Washington Football Team had signed a “Common Interest Agreement” in which both sides vowed not to disclose information about the probe into the team’s toxic culture without the approval of the other. The existence of that agreement undermines the league’s claims that the investigation was impartial.
Goodell turned the conversation back to Flores’ lawsuit on Saturday, saying in his memo that “racism and any form of discrimination is contrary to the NFL’s values” and that the league is seeking “real and tangible results” in improving their hiring practices.
“We are retaining outside experts to assist in this review and will also solicit input from current and former players and coaches, advocates and other authorities in this area,” the memo read.
The commissioner also said the “issues relating to the integrity of NFL games” will be reviewed “thoroughly and independently,” alluding to Flores’ allegation that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss to tank during the 2019 season.
