An update on Brian Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against the Dolphins, NFL

Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores will be able to pursue some of the racial discrimination claims he levied in a lawsuit against the NFL and several teams in court, a district judge ruled Wednesday.

In a written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan, Flores’ claims against New York Giants, the Houston Texans, the Denver Broncos, and his related claims against the NFL, will able to proceed in court. Caproni granted the request to send claims against the Dolphins to arbitration handled by commissioner Roger Goodell, citing the employee contract he signed.

“This case shines an unflattering spotlight on the employment practices of National Football League teams,” Caproni wrote. “Although the clear majority of professional football players are Black, only a tiny percentage of coaches are Black.”

In February 2022, Flores filed a lawsuit accusing the league of racial discrimination in its hiring and firing practices, along with allegations that multiple teams — the Giants, Broncos and Texans — conducted sham interviews with him for head-coaching vacancies.

Flores also accused Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of offering $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season, allegations he has denied. Flores claims his resistance to losing games alienated him from the organization and ultimately played a role in his dismissal. The league investigated Flores’ tanking allegations and concluded that the team did not intentionally lose games. However, the Dolphins forfeited two draft picks and Ross was suspended six games for making “impermissible communications” with Tom Brady and Sean Payton, findings that also arose from Flores’ lawsuit.

“We are pleased that Coach Flores’ class claims of systematic discrimination against the NFL and several teams will proceed in court and ultimately before a jury of his peers,” Flores’ lawyer Douglas H. Wigdor said in a statement. “We are disappointed the court compelled arbitration of any claims before Mr. Goodell as he is obviously biased and unqualified to rule on these matters. We expect him to delegate those matters to a truly neutral arbitrator as a matter of fundamental fairness. We look forward to pursuing all these claims to trial in their various forums.”

After spending one season as a defensive assistant with the Steelers, Flores was hired as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator last month. Flores was fired in January 2022 after three seasons and a 24-25 record.

Caproni also ruled that Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, two Black coaches who joined Flores’ lawsuit, must have their claims settled via arbitration, also citing the employee contracts they signed.

Wilks, the former Panthers defensive coordinator and interim coach this past season, was head coach of the Cardinals for the 2018 season and was fired after a 3-13 finish. He claims he was hired as a “bridge coach and was not given any meaningful chance to succeed.” Wilks was replaced by Kliff Kingsbury, who is white and had no NFL head coaching experience before being hired by Arizona. Wilks has since been hired as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.

Horton claims he was given a “completely sham interview” for the Titans’ opening in January 2016. In a 2020 podcast interview, Mike Mularkey, who was hired over Horton, says Titans management informed him he was getting the job even as interviews were still being conducted.

A pretrial conference has been scheduled for Friday, March 24.