Former Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores Asks NFL To Deny Team’s Request For Arbitration In His Case Alleging Racist Hiring Practices

The Miami Dolphins have asked the NFL to deny their request for arbitration with former coach Brian Flores in a case alleging racist hiring practices.

Brian Flores, a former Miami Dolphins coach, asked the NFL to deny his team’s request for arbitration in his case alleging racist hiring practices. Flores is suing the Dolphins for wrongful termination and claiming that he was fired because of his race. Read more in detail here: brian flores .

Brian Flores wants the NFL to reject the Miami Dolphins’ request for an arbitration hearing in his class-action complaint claiming racial hiring practices against the club and the league.

On Wednesday, Flores’ lawyer wrote to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, asking him to deny Miami’s plea and resolve the dispute in court.

In his letter, attorney Douglas H. Wigdor said, “Arbitration is not transparent.” “Arbitration is, by definition, a private procedure that occurs behind closed doors and away from the public view. The lack of openness in arbitration simply helps to maintain the status quo, which you have admitted must be properly examined and maybe reformed in this instance. In arbitration, that is not possible. Arbitration, in addition to being private and confidential, is widely acknowledged as a barrier to justice for victims of discrimination and other misbehavior.”

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Flores, who was hired as a senior defensive assistant by the Pittsburgh Steelers last month, filed a lawsuit against the NFL, the Miami Dolphins, the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos after being fired by the Dolphins. Flores was dismissed in January after leading the Dolphins to straight winning seasons.

Flores stated in a statement released by his lawyer, “The charges that we filed include serious concerns of systematic racial discrimination and the integrity of NFL football games ” “Unfortunately, the Dolphins and their lawyers, Quinn Emanuel and Paul Weiss, are attempting to force the accusations against them into private arbitration hearings that are opaque. There are already legislative measures underway to remove mandatory arbitration for racial discrimination lawsuits, which I wholeheartedly endorse. I’m hoping the NFL and the Dolphins will join me in supporting these initiatives. Commissioner Goodell now needs to make a decision. Will he allow this lawsuit, as well as future accusations of racial discrimination, to be resolved in a clear and public judicial process, or will he continue down the same unacceptably destructive path?”

Flores’ complaint claims that the NFL discriminated against him and other Black coaches because of their race, refusing them jobs as head coaches, offensive and defensive coordinators, quarterbacks coaches, and general managers. Flores also alleges that during his first season with the organization in 2019, Miami promised him $100,000 each defeat in exchange for a high draft selection.

Although Goodell claimed before the Super Bowl that “all of the claims, whether they were based on racism or discrimination or the integrity of our game, all of them to me were extremely worrisome,” the NFL has maintained that the case is “without substance.”

Last month, the Dolphins sought an arbitration hearing.

“We also hope that the Dolphins will reconsider their position after reading this letter and reflecting further, and withdraw their arbitration request so that Mr. Flores’ claims of race discrimination and other unlawful conduct can be heard in a fair and transparent manner, in front of a judge and a jury of his peers,” Wigdor wrote to Goodell. “The NFL would reject Miami’s request for arbitration if it is genuinely devoted to ‘eradicating racism,’ as it has consistently stated. Behind closed doors, race prejudice cannot be erased, and the integrity of the game relies on openness.”