Former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is currently suing the NFL (and three teams) for racial discrimination in their hiring practices after he was let go from the Dolphins. It shed a bigger light on what lots of people already knew which is the NFL has an issue hiring Black head coaches and GMs.
By suing the NFL, Flores “hurt” his chances of getting another head coaching job but it was definitely the right thing to do.
Now, during an interview with HBO’s Bryant Gumbel, Flores says that he declined to sign a separation agreement (basically a NDA) and says that signing it would have silenced him and his lawyers say he also left millions on the table and also says via ESPN
“To Coach Flores’ credit, he wasn’t gonna sign that, because he wanted — it wasn’t about the money,” attorney Doug Wigdor told Gumbel, adding it was a two-year non-disparagement agreement contract. “If it was about the money he would have signed it. What he did instead was he filed this lawsuit so that he could help other coaches, now … and in the future.”
Wigdor added: “If a coach is terminated with a couple years or a year left on their contract, they don’t get paid unless they sign a waiver, an NDA, confidentiality and non-disparagement. So they buy their silence.”
The Dolphins say there was no NDA to be signed.
Flores did land a job as a defensive assistant with the Steelers so that’s great for him.
Flores presented evidence of the alleged NDA. Some people think it is proof others are saying it is a standard document that all fired coaches have to sign.
This lawsuit is going to get messy. There are a lot of semantics going on, but in the end, if Flores can prove his claims Stephen Ross will have to sell the team.
Flip the page to see the interview with Real Sports and the NDA>