Judge rules Brian Flores' NFL discrimination lawsuit can head to open court, not arbitration

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brian Flores-led discrimination lawsuit against the NFL can proceed to open court and avoid the league's arbitration process, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Flores, who is joined in the lawsuit by Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, sued the league and three teams in February 2022 after he was fired the previous month by the Miami Dolphins. Now the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, Flores alleged in his original suit that the league was “rife with racism” regarding its hiring practices when it comes to Black coaches.

The NFL argued Flores should go through the league's arbitration process rather than the legal system, but Judge Valerie Caproni of the Southern District of New York sided with the plaintiffs.

“The court’s decision recognizes that an arbitration forum in which the defendant’s own chief executive gets to decide the case would strip employees of their rights under the law," Flores' attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and David E. Gottlieb said in a statement. "It is long overdue for the NFL to recognize this and finally provide a fair, neutral and transparent forum for these issues to be addressed.”

The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A pretrial hearing has been set for April 3.

Flores was fired after going 24-25 record over three years without a playoff appearances. The Dolphins did have back-to-back winning seasons before Flores was dismissed.

He sued the NFL as well as the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Houston Texans. Flores interviewed with the Broncos in 2019 and the Giants and Texans in 2022.

Wilks, who was fired in December as the New York Jets defensive coordinator, joined the lawsuit by claiming the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 hired him as a “bridge coach” and didn't provide him with a realistic chance to succeed.

Horton, who last coached in the NFL in 2019, alleged the Tennessee Titans didn't offer him a genuine interview for the head coaching position in 2016.

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