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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Former New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores sued the NFL on grounds of discrimination, citing Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick's text messages as evidence.
The Class Action Complaint, filed on Tuesday, alleged that the New York Giants were discriminatory against Flores in their hiring process for an open head coach position. According to Flores, Giants officials had predetermined that his competitor Brian Daboll would get the job prior to Flores' interview.
On that claim, Flores' lawsuit cited text messages from Belichick that he said were apparently sent to the wrong Brian.
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"Got it - I hear from Buffalo & NYG (New York Giants) that you are their guy. Hope it works out if you want it to!" Belichick's message read.
Flores alleged that Belichick's premature congratulations proves that the Giants only met with him after choosing Daboll to fulfill the NFL's diversity requirements, otherwise known as the Rooney Rule.
Flores also alleged that his previous employer, the Miami Dolphins, fired him in part for refusing Owner Stephen Ross' directive to "tank" the first season he coached to get a better draft pick for the team. According to Flores, Ross offered $100,000 to him for every Miami loss during the 2019 season.
From there, Flores said that he was ostracized and ultimately fired from the Dolphins.
The NFL responded to the lawsuit in a statement on Tuesday.
"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 NFL's statement read.
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