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Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is suing the NFL over discrimination, and a federal appeals court ruled that he is free to go ahead with that lawsuit because the NFL’s decree of offering independent arbitration lacks credibility for multiple reasons.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld upheld a previous federal court ruling that Flores can proceed with claims against the league and three teams, including the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Houston Texans.
The NFL’s role in the arbitration process is an offer of “arbitration in name only,” according to a decision written by Circuit Judge Jose A. Cabranes.
“Instead, it offends basic presumptions of our arbitration jurisprudence” since the NFL’s top officer, commissioner Roger Goodell, is the one who gets the final say in the arbitration process.
Attorneys for Flores said that the ruling was a massive victory NFL employees and workers throughout the United States. “For too long, the NFL has relied on a fundamentally biased and unfair arbitration process, even in cases involving serious claims of discrimination,” the attorneys said in a statement, per ESPN.com. “This ruling sends a clear message: that practice must end. This is a victory not only for NFL employees, but for workers across the country.”
Flores served as the Dolphins head coach from 2019 through the 2021 season, and he was let go by the organization despite putting winning records together in his final two seasons.
He filed his lawsuit against the NFL in 2022, claiming the league was “rife with racism,” especially when it came to the hiring and promotion of black coaches.
Flores has been given first interviews by several teams since his firing by the Dolphins, but he claims those interviews were merely cursory and did not offer him a legitimate opportunity to be considered for the positions.
In the interim, Flores has served as the defensive coordinator for the Vikings. As he begins his third season with the team, he has delivered significant improvements on the defensive side of the ball in his first two years working under Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
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