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Art Rooney II Releases Statement on Brian Flores Lawsuit

Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II responds to racial allegations from Flores.

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II released a statement following a lawsuit against the NFL filed by former head coach Brian Flores claiming the New York Giants took advantage of his race in the hiring process.

Rooney would not comment on the lawsuit filed by Flores, but did touch on the growth of the Rooney Rule and the hiring of women and minorities throughout the NFL.

"Over the past several years, our Diversity Committee has recommended, and ownership has adopted, a number of enhancements to the Rooney Rule as well as new policies designed to ensure women and minorities are receiving full and fair consideration for coaching and front office positions," Rooney said. "The details of these enhancements and new policies have previously been made available. While I acknowledge that we have not seen progress in the ranks of Head Coaches, we have seen marked improvement in the hiring of women and minorities in other key leadership roles such as Coordinator positions, General Manager positions, and front office positions both in and out of football operations. I believe this progress has been made as a result of the implementation of many of the enhanced policies that were recently adopted."

"The Commissioner and League Executives, as well as the Diversity Committee, remain committed to working with all clubs, the Fritz Pollard Alliance, and others in making these efforts as effective as possible and building upon them to promote the desired impacts on hiring decisions in the League at all levels, including Head Coach positions."

Flores claims the Giants held a "sham" interview after already knowing they were going to hire Brian Daboll. Flores filed a 58-page lawsuit against the league, which included teams such as the Giants, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins.

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