Former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores has amended his class-action lawsuit against the NFL and its teams, accusing the Houston Texans of retaliation and adding allegations from longtime coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton regarding sham interviews, incentivizing losses and pressure to improperly recruit players.
The league has said Flores’ original claims were “without merit” but declined comment on Thursday’s amended claim. Every one of the six teams involved — the Dolphins, Texans, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans — has denied wrongdoing.
There are two paths here to pursue. The first, of course, is whether any laws were broken. The second is whether the NFL will react internally to the growing list of allegations.
Since the lawsuit was filed in February, the NFL has created a diversity advisory committee and also levied a new requirement for every team to hire a minority offensive assistant coach. But the league did not connect the mandate to the lawsuit, and regardless, Flores called the entire effort an “obvious public relations stunt.”
Will the NFL make further attempts to strengthen its diverse hiring policies for coaches? At the moment, there are six minority head coaches in the NFL. Would it discipline Dolphins owner Stephen Ross if he, as Flores alleges, offered $100,000 bonuses to lose games in an effort to secure the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft?
Flores has since joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as a senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach. He had previously invited others to join the lawsuit to share stories of “systemic racism in the NFL.” Wilks and Horton are the first two to join.
The league has said that “diversity is core to everything we do,” and added that Flores’ claims are “without merit” from a legal perspective, although it is conducting its own investigation into the allegations surrounding Ross.
Let’s consider where each track could go in the coming weeks and months, with the help of league…
Source : espn
