Flores says lawsuit will continue even if he gets job
Brian Flores says his lawsuit against the NFL over alleged racist hiring practices will continue even if he becomes a head coach again this offseason.
Flores has interviewed with the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints, who have yet to fill their coaching vacancies. If they call, Flores will listen, but he said the suit will go on because the league needs change.
“This is about changing the hiring practices in the National Football League, and that’s what this lawsuit is about,” Flores said Wednesday on CNN. “I want to coach football that’s what I’m called to do.”
Flores said he knows others have similar stories and that it is hard to speak out. He called his potential sacrifice bigger than football or coaching. The NFL is at a fork in the road, he said.
“We’re going keep it the way it is or go in another direction and make some change where we’re actually changing the hearts and minds of those who make decisions to hire head coaches, executives, et cetera,” Flores said on CBS. “That’s what we’ve got to get to. We’ve got to change hearts and minds.”
Tony Dungy, a Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, wrote an open letter to NFL owners Wednesday and shared a link on social media.
“One year ago I wrote a letter to NFL owners saying the NFL had a problem only they could solve,” Dungy wrote on Twitter. “Not a lot has changed. Brian Flores’ suit shows the frustration many black coaches have. It could be just the tip of the iceberg. Something has to change!”
Flores’ lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. It is seeking class-action status and unspecified damages from the league, the Miami Dolphins, the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants, along with unidentified individuals.
The NFL, Dolphins, Broncos and Giants have denied Flores’ accusations. In its statement, the NFL said it will defend “against these claims, which are without merit.”
Flores, 40, was fired last month by Miami after leading the Dolphins to a 2425 record over three years. They went 9-8 in their second straight winning season, but failed to make the playoffs during his tenure.
According to the lawsuit, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told Flores he would pay him $100,000 for every loss during the coach’s first season because he wanted the club to “tank” so it could get the draft’s top pick. WASHINGTON ANNOUNCES NEW TEAM NAME: COMMANDERS >> Washington has some new Commanders in town.
The NFL team announced its new name on Wednesday, 18 months after fresh pressure from sponsors helped persuade the once-storied franchise to drop its old moniker following decades of criticism that it was offensive to Native Americans. The organization committed to avoiding Native American imagery in its rebrand after being called the Washington Football Team the past two seasons.
Washington is the latest American major professional team to abandon its name linked to Native Americans, and it was considered one of the most egregious.
Suzan Shown Harjo, who is Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, called the change “an amazing and a giant step in the maturation of America.” The 76-year-old Harjo has been advocating for sports teams to drop Native imagery and mascots since the 1960s.
“That’s sort of our place in the world, Native people’s place in the world, to help the rest of the country come to grips with its past and to understand how to move on,” she said. “And, I hope, how to do it with grace.”
BROWNS REFUTE CLAIMS OF TANKING GAMES >> The Cleveland Browns say suggestions by former coach Hue Jackson and an associate that he was paid by the team to lose games are “completely fabricated.”
Jackson, who is now coaching at Grambling, made several posts on Twitter inferring that he received bonus payments from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam during his two-plus seasons with the team. The Browns strongly refuted Jackson’s claims. HARBAUGH DECIDES AGAINST VIKINGS JOB >> Jim Harbaugh will stay at Michigan after all, ending his dalliance with a return to the NFL after interviewing with the Minnesota Vikings for their head coach vacancy Wednesday. Harbaugh withdrew from consideration and will be back at his alma mater for an eighth season.