Belichick Texts Play Key Role in Brian Flores’ Discrimination Lawsuit Against NFL
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The month of February is off to a fast start in 2022, at least when it comes to the NFL.
Shortly after quarterback Tom Brady officially announced his retirement from the NFL after 22 seasons, another major story hit the news cycle; one with the potential to rock the very foundation of the NFL.
Former New England Patriots defensive assistant, and most recently ex-Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and its 32 franchises, alleging the active presence of racist hiring practices throughout the league.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday by Wigdor LLC to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, was precipitated by Flores’ recent experience with the New York Giants’ interview process. Having considered multiple candidates for the job, the Giants hosted several of them for interviews, including Flores and then-Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
Ultimately, the Giants decided on Daboll. Though his resume was certainly worthy of the position, Flores’ was as well. As the class action suit indicates, Flores believes that his consideration, or lack thereof, was motivated by his race more than his experience or qualifications. The filing specifically states: “Mr. Flores was deceptively led to believe he actually had a chance at this job.”
In short, Flores believes that he was only interviewed to satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for a head coaching job and at least one external minority candidate for a coordinator job.
A Slip of the Text?
A central figure in Flores’ allegations is his former boss of 15 years, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. In the lawsuit, Flores says that Belichick accidentally informed him, via text message, that the Giants had already chosen Daboll. In the chain of text messages between Flores and Belichick, the Pats head coach mistakenly congratulates the wrong Brian — Flores instead of Daboll — on getting the Giants job. The exchange of texts between the former colleagues occurred three days before Flores was set to interview for the position. Daboll, like Flores, was also a former Belichick assistant.
“The Giants would likely have gotten away with this most insidious form of discrimination if New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick had not mistakenly disclosed it to Mr. Flores.” In short, the text messages appear to indicate the team had allegedly made its decision prior to Flores’ interview.
Broncos, Dolphins Specifically Named
Flores’ lawsuit also accused the Denver Broncos, and Flores’ most recent employer, the Miami Dolphins, of discriminatory and unethical practices. The filing alleges that Denver interviewed Flores in 2019 with the sole purpose of following the Rooney Rule. According to the filing, “it was clear from the substance of the interview that Mr. Flores was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule, and that the Broncos never had any intention to consider him as a legitimate candidate for the job.”
Flores spent three seasons as Miami’s head coach, before being relieved of his duties last month. In the lawsuit, the Dolphins are accused of parting ways with Flores after he disregarded orders from team owner Stephen Ross. As outlined in the document, Ross allegedly directed Flores to secure the first overall draft pick in 2020 for Miami, even offering “$100,000 for every loss.” Ross is accused of having pressured Flores to “recruit a prominent quarterback in violation of League tampering rules.”
Just when Brady thought he was out, they pulled him back in
In somewhat of an O. Henry-twist, the aforementioned ‘prominent quarterback’ was reportedly identified as Tom Brady, per the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad.
Just hours before Flores’ lawsuit hit the news cycle, Brady made headlines of his own by announcing his retirement.
Flores, who worked with Brady in New England, attests that a surprise meeting nearly took place between himself, Ross and the “prominent quarterback” [Brady]. At the time, Brady had yet to enter free agency, and thus was was still under contract with the Patriots. Flores alleges that his protesting the meeting was a key factor in his dismissal.
“Mr. Ross invited Mr. Flores onto a yacht for lunch. Shortly after he arrived, Mr. Ross told Mr. Flores that the prominent quarterback was ‘conveniently’ arriving at the marina. Obviously, Mr. Ross had attempted to ‘set up’ a purportedly impromptu meeting between Mr. Flores and the prominent quarterback,” per the lawsuit. “Mr. Flores refused the meeting and left the yacht immediately. After the incident, Mr. Flores was treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with.”
Brady entered free agency in 2020, deciding to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he played two seasons, leading the Bucs to victory in Super Bowl LV.
What They Are Saying
While the legal process of Flores’ lawsuit is in still in its beginning stages, the ex-Pats and Dolphins coach released a statement, explaining his position on the issues at hand:
“God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals. In making the decision to file the class action complaint, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game I love and has done so much for my family and me. My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”
The NFL also released a statement in response to Flores’ claims and lawsuit:
“The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organizations. Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit.”
The teams specifically mentioned in the lawsuit have also issued statements:
Statement from the Miami Dolphins:
“We are aware of the lawsuit through the media reports that came out this afternoon. We vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization. The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect. We will be withholding further comment on the lawsuit at this time."
Statement from the New York Giants:
"We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll. We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach."
Statement from the Denver Broncos:
“The allegations from Brian Flores directed toward the Denver Broncos in today’s court filing are blatantly false. Our interview with Mr. Flores regarding our head coaching position began promptly at the scheduled time of 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 5, 2019, in a Providence, R.I., hotel. There were five Broncos executives present for the interview, which lasted approximately three-and-a-half hours—the fully allotted time—and concluded shortly before 11 a.m. Pages of detailed notes, analysis and evaluations from our interview demonstrate the depth of our conversation and sincere interest in Mr. Flores as a head coaching candidate. Our process was thorough and fair to determine the most qualified candidate for our head coaching position. The Broncos will vigorously defend the integrity and values of our organization—and its employees—from such baseless and disparaging claims.”
Though not specifically accused within the filing, the Patriots were named as defendants along with all other NFL teams. To date, neither Belichick nor the Patriots have offered public comment.
