Lawyers bash Goodell-led arbitration
Lawyers for three Black NFL coaches alleging racial bias by the league took aim directly at Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday in their latest arguments against arbitrating a dispute they say belongs before a jury.
In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers wrote that arbitration would allow “unconscionably biased one-sided ‘kangaroo courts’” to decide the outcome of the lawsuit filed in February by Brian Flores, who was fired in January as head coach of the Dolphins. He’s now an assistant coach with the Steelers.
Two other coaches — Steve Wilks and Ray Horton — later joined the lawsuit.
Their lawyers said Goodell, who would lead the arbitration if the case isn’t decided by a jury, couldn’t be fair in overseeing and ruling on the dispute as to whether the league engages in systemic discrimination. They included in their submission articles about Goodell’s salary and other details.
They cited the hundreds of millions of dollars he earns from teams, his public statement that the lawsuit is without merit and the likelihood that he could be a witness in the case.
In June, lawyers for the NFL and six of its teams said arbitration was required because the coaches had agreed in their contracts to multiple arbitration provisions “that squarely cover their claims.” They also said the coaches were required to go to arbitration individually rather than as a group.
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