Former NFL Coach Suing League and Multiple Teams for Alleged ‘Racism in Hiring’

A former NFL coach is going after the league and three teams for alleged “racism in hiring,” per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Brian Flores, who was recently fired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, has filed a lawsuit against his former team, the New York Giants and Denver Broncos along with the league. Flores included texts from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick as the suit as evidence. Flores says the hiring practices by the league have it “racially segregated and managed like a plantation” per ESPN. 

“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 release put out by the law firm working on the case.  “In making the decision to file the class action complaint today, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game that I love and that has done so much for my family and me. My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”

Flores was fired last month by the Dolphins after finishing the season 9-8 and 24-25 over three years. He was a candidate to be the head coach of the Giants before they hired Brian Daboll. The complaint includes text messages from Belichick who congratulated Flores on getting hired by the Giants before being interviewed by the organization. 

“Sorry — I f— this up. I double-checked and misread the text. I think they are naming Brian Daboll. I’m sorry about that,” Belichick said. The Broncos are mentioned in the lawsuit over a 2019 interview with the team that alleges team officials, including John Elway being hours late for an interview and that “They look completely disheveled, and it was obvious they had (sic) drinking heavily the night before.” 

“In certain critical ways, the NFL is racially segregated and is managed much like a plantation,” the lawsuit said. “Its 32 owners — none of whom are Black — profit substantially from the labor of NFL players, 70% of whom are Black. The owners watch the games from atop NFL stadiums in their luxury boxes, while their majority-Black workforce put their bodies on the line every Sunday, taking vicious hits and suffering debilitating injuries to their bodies and their brains while the NFL and its owners reap billions of dollars,” Before being hired as the head coach of the Dolphins, Flores was an assistant coach for the Patriots from 2008-2018.