Some good news today, if you’re a fan or supporter of Brian Flores pursuing legal action against the National Football League. Rather than being forced to go through arbitration, Manhattan Judge Valerie Caproni has ruled that Flores can pursue some of his claims against both the league and some teams.
Not all of them will not go to arbitration, according to ESPN, but this is still a step in the right direction for Flores as all hope isn’t lost. For those unfamiliar with the situation, Flores reportedly filed a lawsuit against the league after having his contract terminated with the Miami Dolphins. Flores claimed there is an abundant amount of racism when it comes to the hiring of black coaches. Flores went on to join the head coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers as their defensive coordinator.
Among those to join in Flores’ suit were Steve Wilks and Ray Horton.
Caproni went on to explain her reason for her ruling, per ESPN, and even went as far as to throw some criticism towards NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:
Caproni wrote that the descriptions by the coaches of their experiences of racial discrimination in a league with a “long history of systematic discrimination toward Black players, coaches, and managers — are incredibly troubling.”
The judge said it was “difficult to understand” how there was only one Black head coach at the time Flores filed his lawsuit in a league of 32 teams with Black players making up about 70% of the rosters.
“We are pleased that Coach Flores’ class claims of systematic discrimination against the NFL and several teams will proceed in court and ultimately before a jury of his peers,” Wigdor Law LLP, which represents Flores, said in a statement. “We are disappointed the court compelled arbitration of any claims before Mr. Goodell as he is obviously biased and unqualified to rule on these matters. We expect him to delegate those matters to a truly neutral arbitrator as a matter of fundamental fairness. We look forward to pursuing all these claims to trial in their various forums.”
Many will disagree with Flores, but if you ask me he may be on to something. Look no further than Eric Bienemy. Even if he got hired to be the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders, the man has won two Super Bowls in four years with the Chiefs. Regardless of whether credit goes mainly to Any Reid, we have seen less qualified candidates get a chance at coaching an NFL team. What more does a man like that have to do to show he deserves his day in the sun?
