Brian Flores’s lawsuit against the NFL is a class action racial discrimination case, filed in February 2022, that accuses the league and several of its teams of running sham interviews with Black coaching candidates, denying them head coaching and general manager jobs, and firing them under different standards than white peers. After the U.S. Supreme Court on May 26, 2026 declined to hear the NFL’s appeal, the case is cleared to move toward trial in federal court rather than into league-run arbitration.
What Flores Alleged
Flores filed the original complaint on February 1, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York as a putative class action on behalf of himself and other Black coaches, coordinators, and general manager candidates. The initial defendants were the NFL, the New York Giants, the Miami Dolphins, and the Denver Broncos.1Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Flores v. The National Football League The complaint described a league that is roughly 70 percent Black in its workforce but has exclusively white ownership and few Black head coaches, coordinators, or general managers, and it argued the league is “managed much like a plantation.”2Wigdor LLP. Complaint Against National Football League et al.
The best-known piece of evidence involved text messages from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. On January 24, 2022, three days before Flores was to interview in person with the Giants, Belichick sent a congratulatory text plainly meant for Brian Daboll. When Flores asked what he meant, Belichick replied, “Sorry—I fucked this up. I double checked & I misread the text. I think they are naming Daboll. I’m sorry about that.”3NBC News. Sham Interviews, Mistaken Bill Belichick Texts: Takeaways From Brian Flores Lawsuit Flores argued the exchange showed the Giants had already picked Daboll, making his interview a “sham process” run only to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for coaching vacancies.4Wigdor LLP. Fired Dolphins Coach Brian Flores Exposes Damning Bill Belichick Texts in NFL Discrimination Lawsuit The Giants denied the claim, saying Belichick had no affiliation with the team and that Daboll’s hiring was not decided until January 28, the day after Flores interviewed.5NFL.com. Giants Say Allegations Made by Brian Flores Are Disturbing and Simply False
Flores also alleged a similarly hollow interview with the Denver Broncos in 2019, during which team executives arrived late and disheveled. The Broncos called that account “blatantly false.”6Yahoo Sports. Supreme Court Denies NFL’s Appeal to Keep Brian Flores Discrimination Case Out of Court
The most explosive allegation came from Flores’s time as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He said owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 for every game the team lost during the 2019 season to secure a better draft pick. In Flores’s account: “Take a flight, go on vacation, I’ll give you $100,000 per loss — those were his exact words.”7ABC News. Brian Flores: Trust Lost With Miami Dolphins Over $100,000 Per Loss Offer Flores said refusing to go along led to his firing after the 2021 season, despite a 24–25 record over three years and back-to-back winning finishes. Ross “vehemently denied” the allegation, calling it “false, malicious and defamatory.” An NFL investigation led by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White found “no evidence or witness testimony that the Dolphins intentionally lost games,” while acknowledging Ross had told team officials on “numerous occasions” that draft position was a higher priority than winning.8Sportico. Dolphins Tampering and Tanking Investigation
Who Else Joined the Case
Flores filed an amended complaint on April 7, 2022 adding two co-plaintiffs, former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks and longtime NFL assistant Ray Horton, along with three new team defendants: the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans.9CNN. Brian Flores Lawsuit Adds Steve Wilks and Ray Horton as Plaintiffs
Wilks alleged the Cardinals hired him in 2018 as a “bridge coach” and fired him after a single 3–13 season, while the team’s white general manager received a contract extension despite a DUI-related suspension, and Wilks’s white successor was given far more runway. The Cardinals denied the claims.10NFL.com. Former HC Steve Wilks, Former NFL Assistant Ray Horton Join Brian Flores in Amended Complaint Horton alleged the Titans gave him a fake interview for their head coaching job in 2016. His account was bolstered when Mike Mularkey, who was hired, later said on a 2020 podcast that the process was “fake” and that he had been told the job was his before minority candidates were interviewed.11Andscape. Steve Wilks, Ray Horton Ensure Brian Flores Has Support in Fight Against the NFL The Titans described the search as “a thoughtful and competitive process.”9CNN. Brian Flores Lawsuit Adds Steve Wilks and Ray Horton as Plaintiffs
The Fight Over Arbitration
The NFL’s central strategy was to keep the case out of open court. The league argued that coaching contracts and the NFL Constitution required these disputes to go to binding arbitration, with Commissioner Roger Goodell as the default arbitrator.12CBS News. Supreme Court NFL Brian Flores Lawsuit Flores’s team argued the setup was inherently biased because Goodell answers to the club owners who are being sued.
On March 1, 2023, U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni issued a split ruling. She denied the NFL’s motion to compel arbitration for claims against the Broncos, Giants, Texans, and the NFL itself, while sending certain claims against the Dolphins to league arbitration.13Sports Illustrated. How Brian Flores’ Lawsuit Reached the Supreme Court and Will Proceed to Trial
On August 14, 2025, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. Judge José Cabranes wrote that the NFL’s arbitration mechanism was “unworthy even of the name of arbitration,” lacked an independent forum, and placed statutory civil rights claims at the “unilateral substantive and procedural discretion” of the Commissioner. The court held the arrangement unenforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act.14Wigdor LLP. Flores v. N.Y. Football Giants, Inc., No. 23-1185-cv The court also rejected the NFL’s mid-appeal appointment of Peter C. Harvey as an outside arbitrator, calling it a “late unilateral designation of an adviser to the NFL.”15FindLaw. Flores v. New York Football Giants, Inc., No. 23-1185-cv
What the Supreme Court’s Denial Means
The NFL asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit decision, arguing the ruling gave judges “free-floating discretion” to invalidate arbitration requirements and undermined “the very predictability and uniformity” required by federal arbitration law.16CNN. NFL Supreme Court Brian Flores
On May 26, 2026, the Court declined to hear the case. Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented, noting he would have granted the petition.12CBS News. Supreme Court NFL Brian Flores Lawsuit The denial leaves the Second Circuit’s decision in place. Flores’s discrimination claims against the NFL, Giants, Broncos, and Texans will be litigated in federal court rather than resolved inside the league.
Flores’s attorneys Douglas Wigdor and David Gottlieb said: “The NFL must now accept that its commissioner cannot be the arbitrator over discrimination claims against the league and its teams. We look forward to litigating these claims in court.” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy responded: “We respect the Supreme Court’s decision not to grant review. Regardless of the forum, we are fully prepared to defend ourselves as this matter proceeds.”17The Athletic. Brian Flores NFL Discrimination Supreme Court Appeal
How the NFL Is Defending Itself
The league has called the lawsuit “without merit” and says “diversity is core to everything we do.” The Dolphins “vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination”; the Giants said Flores “was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour”; and the Cardinals said they are “confident that the facts” will show the claims are “untrue.”6Yahoo Sports. Supreme Court Denies NFL’s Appeal to Keep Brian Flores Discrimination Case Out of Court Legal analysts expect the NFL to argue that teams hired the best-qualified candidates, to point to expansions of the Rooney Rule as evidence of its commitment to diversity, and to assert non-discriminatory reasons for Flores’s firing in Miami.18Harvard Law School. Brian Flores vs. the NFL
Where the Case Stands Now
Flores filed a Third Amended Complaint on May 19, 2026. It argues that the NFL itself is Flores’s employer and is liable for systemic discrimination across teams, that head coaching hiring operates within a “closed and highly interconnected ecosystem” governed by uniform league rules, and that Commissioner Goodell “outrageously” misinterpreted NFL guidelines to keep control of arbitration.19The Athletic. Brian Flores NFL Discrimination Lawsuit Team Subpoenas
Flores’s lawyers have also served subpoenas on 25 NFL teams that are not named defendants, seeking 24 years of hiring and employment records to support the claim of league-wide discrimination. With requests to the six defendant teams, more than 1,000 document requests are in play.20Front Office Sports. Brian Flores NFL Suit New Filings Subpoenas NFL attorneys have called those requests “punishingly overbroad” and accused Flores of using discovery as a “delay tactic.”19The Athletic. Brian Flores NFL Discrimination Lawsuit Team Subpoenas
Judge Caproni set a briefing schedule under which the NFL’s motions to dismiss were due June 5, 2026, Flores’s response briefs July 20, and the NFL’s reply briefs August 19.21USA Today. Brian Flores Lawsuit NFL Briefing Dates No trial date has been set. The subpoenaed teams are expected to move to quash, which will produce further pre-trial fights before any jury is picked.20Front Office Sports. Brian Flores NFL Suit New Filings Subpoenas
Flores’s Coaching Career During the Suit
Eighteen days after filing, Flores was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.22Pittsburgh Steelers. Flores Named Senior Defensive Assistant/Linebackers His lawyers said the case would continue regardless.23NFL.com. Brian Flores Hired by Steelers as Senior Defensive Assistant After one season in Pittsburgh, he became defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings in 2023, signed an extension in January 2026, and interviewed with the Baltimore Ravens for their head coaching job that same month.24NFL.com. Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores Signs Contract Extension With Vikings He has not been hired as a head coach since Miami let him go. The Third Amended Complaint alleges that failure is retaliation for bringing the lawsuit.21USA Today. Brian Flores Lawsuit NFL Briefing Dates