Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is suing the NFL alleging racial discrimination during the coach hiring process.
In the lawsuit filed on Feb. 1, 2022, Flores says that the New York Giants had settled on Brian Daboll as their head coach days before he was scheduled to interview with them. Flores completed his interview with the Giants on Jan. 27, and Daboll was named the Giants’ head coach the next day.
Flores also provided text messages in the lawsuit, showing that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick mistakenly congratulated him days before he interviewed for the job. It was Daboll who Belichick thought he was texting.
Belichick wasn't faking his technophobia pic.twitter.com/uidwpApkXg
— Kevin Cole (@KevinCole___) February 1, 2022
Flores released a statement obtained by Mike Giardi of NFL Network.
“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 making the decision to file the class action complaint, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game I love.”
The Giants organization released a statement following the lawsuit.
#Giants statement in response to Brian Flores’ allegations in the lawsuit he has filed. pic.twitter.com/MClyCkfVv0
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 1, 2022
Flores was fired from the Dolphins at the end of the regular season, despite leading the team to a 9-8 record and winning eight of their last nine games.
The NFL released this statement on Feb. 1, 2022: “The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organizations. Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit.”
