Brian Flores filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three of its teams on Tuesday, alleging racial discrimination in regard to his interview processes with both the New York Giants and Denver Broncos, and tenure with the Miami Dolphins, which ended last month.
During an in-studio appearance on Wednesday's edition of "CBS Mornings," Flores discussed the allegations, saying in part, "I'm not the only one with a story to tell. People have come before me, and I know there are others who have similar stories and it's hard to speak out. You're making some sacrifices but this is bigger than football, and this is bigger than coaching."
"[Flores] released a statement right after the lawsuit became public, and he essentially said, 'I know that I might be jeopardizing my career coaching, but some things are bigger than that,'" Dolphins reporter Daniel Oyefusi told After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Wednesday. "There's definitely some parallels to Colin Kaepernick, and maybe that risk they've taken to impact change in a bigger way. Even the timing of it all is really interesting...
"I think this is something that was definitely in the works -- I mean, you don't put together a 58-page lawsuit in 24 hours. This was definitely something that was in the works, and he had his mind set on it. And the timing was definitely interesting, considering he had some head coaching interviews that he was in the running for, apparently."
The bombshell lawsuit claims that the Giants recently interviewed Flores for their head coaching job under disingenuous conditions, as the organization simply wanted to fulfill the NFL's "Rooney Rule" policy, which requires teams to interview external minority candidates for top-level openings. The lawsuit also alleges that, back in 2019, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered Flores $100,000 for every loss, in an effort to tank for the top-overall draft pick.
The Giants released a statement in response to Flores' lawsuit, claiming that, "We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll... Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour." The league also issued a statement, saying in part, "We will defend against these claims, which are without merit." A statement from the Dolphins said, "We vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization."
Although 70-percent of the league's players are Black, none of the 32 team owners are. And at the moment, only one NFL head coach -- Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- is African American. Ron Rivera of the Washington Commanders and Robert Saleh of the New York Jets are the only non-Black minority head coaches.
The entire conversation between Oyefusi and Lawrence can be accessed in the audio player above. Additional information and details about the lawsuit can be found here.
You can follow After Hours With Amy Lawrence on Twitter @ALawRadio and @AfterHoursCBS, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.