MIAMI — Brian Flores and his attorneys asserted during their media tour Wednesday that they have evidence to support Flores’ allegation that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss to lose games in 2019, when Ross prioritized snagging a high draft pick.
If that allegation is corroborated (and the onus is on Flores’ legal team to prove it), many voices are saying that Ross should no longer be an NFL owner.
So would this create an opportunity for Black owner?
Not in the Dolphins’ case.
Bruce Beal, who is white, has the contractual right to purchase the Dolphins if Ross decides to sell (or passes away) and is expected to do so.
While precedent suggests the NFL will investigate Flores’ allegations against Ross, the league — as of Wednesday morning — declined to say whether it will do so after calling Flores’ lawsuit “without merit.”
Former Miami Marlins president David Samson, who has a law degree and now hosts a podcast, assures that “there will be an internal investigation. Even if untrue, the [NFL] has to investigate them. For their own credibility they have to investigate. The racial issue is a huge issue, but the biggest thing that came out is the possibility of the competitive integrity being questioned. If your fans think the fix is in, [that’s a problem].”
The NFL has been reticent to force disgraced owners to sell their teams. “Owners don’t want owners to be forced out because if you come for one owner once, then they come for you,” Samson said. “There will be a fall guy, though. There has to be fines. There has to be some [punishment if the allegations are proven to be true].”
