A federal judge is allowing former Pittsburgh Steelers senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach Brian Flores to continue his lawsuit against the NFL and several teams for alleged racial discrimination.
According to the Associated Press, earlier today Judge Valerie Caproni’s confirmed her March ruling allowing Flores to continue his lawsuit. The NFL was arguing Flores did not have the right to sue the NFL and that the case should be sent to an arbitrator instead. Other coaches who have joined Flores’ lawsuit, like former Steelers DB Coach Ray Horton, must send their case to arbitration. Flores, however, can continue.
From the AP’s Larry Neumeister:
“[Judge Caproni] said Flores can proceed to trial with his claims against the league and three teams: the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the Houston Texans.”
Flores’ lawsuit began on Feb. 1, 2022, shortly after being fired by the Miami Dolphins. His suit came with several allegations but all relating to racial discrimination in the league’s hiring practices. Against the Giants, Flores alleges the team made the decision to hire Brian Daboll before interviewing any minority candidates, which would violate the Rooney Rule.
As with most legal matters, the suit has been meandering through the system, tied up in court for nearly 18 months. After filing the lawsuit, Flores had trouble being hired by any team, interviewing for but not getting head coach and defensive coordinator jobs around the league. After initially reaching out to provide counsel and wisdom, Mike Tomlin made the decision to hire Flores once it became clear no other team would. Flores was brought on to be the team’s senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the 2022 season.
After interviewing with several teams this offseason, Flores was hired by the Minnesota Vikings to serve as their defensive coordinator. Pittsburgh filled Flores’ linebackers coach role with former first-round pick Aaron Curry, who had been coaching linebackers with the Seattle Seahawks.
In the Tuesday ruling, Caproni said the NFL failed to prove Flores was contractually not allowed to take the league and teams to court. An unsigned contract the NFL provided was not considered to be strong enough evidence.
From Neumeister:
“She said the copy of the contract that the NFL submitted to her before she ruled in March contained a signature line for Goodell that was blank and the contract was not ‘valid and binding’ unless signed by all parties.”
Per the AP, lawyers on both sides did not respond to comment.
A trial date has not yet been set, though there is a pretrial conference scheduled for Aug 4.
