Brian Flores Continues With Discrimination Lawsuit After Steelers Hire
Brian Flores was hired as a defensive assistant by the Pittsburgh Steelers late last week, but it’s not changing his mind about going through with his discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and three of its teams.
During an appearance on the I Am Athlete show on YouTube Monday (Feb. 21), the former Miami Dolphins head coach said he’s on a mission to increase diversity amongst higher ranking jobs on NFL teams.
"I think the team owners as a whole will say we [the NFL] have a problem with minority hires," Flores said. "I think they all agree with that. The numbers speak to it. I think individually, [the owners] will say, 'I, personally, don't have a problem.' Individually, if they don't have issues, that's when nothing happens.
"Each owner needs to look inward and say, 'What can I do to make changes and fix some of these issues?'" he added.
Flores also echoed previous claims that NFL owners favor personal familiarity over merit when making head coaching hiring decisions.
"It's qualifications versus familiarity – I think that's what we are dealing with," Flores said when discussing why more minorities aren't hired by NFL teams. "I think there is a heart change that needs to happen. Ownership has to be more open-minded about minorities and women and their ability to lead in the NFL."
Flores’ position with the Steelers isn’t likely to be a long-term one as he is almost certain to pursue another head-coaching job next season.
Last week’s hire comes after Flores filed a class-action lawsuit that has rocked the world of not only football but pro sports in general, with far reaching implications on the nature of discrimination in professional athletic management.
There are currently only five minority head coaches in the NFL. Two were fired and two were hired this offseason. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has since stated that every option is on the table in regards to combatting the league’s fraught past in dealing with racism, including replacing the league’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview two minority coaches before making a final decision on a hire.
Flores filed a lawsuit against the Dolphins, the NFL and two other teams – the Denver Broncos and New York Giants – earlier this month, alleging he was discriminated against during his interview processes with the latter two organizations and firing from the Dolphins last month.
According to ESPN, the 58-page lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court on February 1 and seeks class-action status. Flores, who is Black alleges that Ross tried to incentivize him to purposely lose games shortly after he was hired in 2019.
Flores says that as the team won games, Ross allegedly offered him $100,000 for every game he’d lose. Miami general manager Chris Grier told him that Ross was “mad” that Flores’ late-season winning was “compromising [the team’s] draft position.”
The suit also includes text messages he alleges are from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick demonstrating that the Giants conducted an interview with Flores knowing they intended to hire someone else to be head coach and to comply with the Rooney Rule.
“While racial barriers have been eroded in many areas, Defendant the National Football League (“NFL” or the “League”) lives in a time of the past,” the lawsuit states. “As described throughout this Class Action Complaint, the NFL remains rife with racism, particularly when it comes to the hiring and retention of Black Head Coaches, Coordinators and General Managers.”
It continues, in-part: “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.”
Since Flores filed his lawsuit, the Houston Texans hired former Tampa Bay and Chicago head coach Lovie Smith, a Black man, for their top job, and the Dolphins have hired Mike McDaniels, who is described as biracial.
