Former Miami Dolphins head coach and current Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the National Football League (“NFL”) and three teams – the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the Houston Texans – can proceed instead of going to arbitration (which is what the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell was advocating, with Goodell serving as arbiter).
Federal District Court Judge Valerie Caproni issued the decision, allowing Flores to pursue his case against the three teams and the NFL through a court, though his suit against the Miami Dolphins and both Steve Wills and Ray Horton’s cases will go through arbitration.
“This case shines an unflattering spotlight on the employment practices of National Football League (“NFL”) teams. Although the clear majority of professional football players are Black, only a tiny percentage of coaches are Black,” Caproni wrote in her decision.
She also noted the league’s “long history of systematic discrimination toward Black players, coaches, and managers – are incredibly troubling. Given the number of Black men who play and coach football, it is difficult to understand how it could be that, at the time Plaintiffs initiated this lawsuit, ‘the NFL had only one Black Head Coach.’”
On my February 22, 2023 episode of Kevin Ross The Podcast, I advanced a three-prong approach I believe is needed to combat this issue of the overwhelming majority of NFL owners refusing to hire more Black men as head coaches.
I applaud Coach Flores for his stance, Judge Caproni’s decision is spot on, and I will continue to follow this case as it advances. Stay tuned!
iambossross 