NFL Hit With Class-Action Racial Discrimination Suit From Ex-Miami Dolphin Coach Brian Flores, Who Cites Bill Belichick Texts In Complaint

Brian Flores, the former coach of the Miami Dolphins, has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit during what should be the game’s high point in the runup to the Super Bowl.

The complaint (read it HERE) is a proposed class-action case naming the league as well as the Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos as defendants. After Flores was fired at the end of the season, despite a winning record with Miami, he was considered for numerous head coaching vacancies. He had a 24-25 record in three seasons with the Dolphins and his dismissal came as a surprise even to many football insiders.

Flores alleges that his participation in those job interviews was a sham engineered as part of the NFL’s “Rooney Rule.” Named for the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the rule came into effect nearly 20 years ago as an effort to ensure that more minority candidates get hired as NFL head coaches. Despite the rule, however, a league whose player rosters are more than three-quarters Black has just one Black head coach, Mike Tomlin of Pittsburgh.

The complaint leads with a sensational piece of evidence: a text message sent by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. (Flores once served as defensive coordinator of the Patriots and, as coaches do, continued to network with his former boss and other coaches.) Mistakenly thinking he was texting with newly named Giants head coach Brian Daboll, Belichick wrote that he thought the coach had a good chance to get the job. When Flores asked him to clarify, Belichick wrote back, “Sorry – I f–ked this up. I double checked and misread the text. I think they are naming Brian Daboll. I’m sorry about that. BB.” The exchange meant that Flores learned of Daboll, who is white, getting the Giants job three days before Flores interviewed for the position.

As for the Broncos, Flores charges that John Elway, head of football operations for the team, was an hour late for their scheduled interview and appeared to be hung over.

Invoking Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the suit notes that it was filed in a federal court in Manhattan on the first day of Black History Month.

“While racial barriers have been eroded in many areas, Defendant the National Football League … lives in a time of the past,” the suit says. “The NFL remains rife with racism, particularly when it comes to the hiring and retention of Black Head Coaches, Coordinators and General Managers. Over the years, the NFL and its 32-member organizations (the ‘Teams’) have been given every chance to do the right thing. Rules have been implemented, promises made—but nothing has changed. In fact, the racial discrimination has only been made worse by the NFL’s disingenuous commitment to social equity.”

Among the demands of the suit are more sway for Black team officials and coaches when it comes to hiring decisions and assistance with getting more Black investors to buy stakes in NFL teams.

In a response to the suit, the Giants issued a statement, according to multiple media outlets. “We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll,” the team said. “We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach.”

The NFL did not immediately respond to Deadline’s request for comment on the lawsuit.

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