Recent amendment to Brian Flores lawsuit accuses NFL of "culture of retaliation"

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Tuesday's decision by the Supreme Court to not accept the NFL’s petition for appeal in the Brian Flores case means that all of his claims will be decided in court, not in arbitration. And Flores recently added some new factual allegations to the various legal theories raised in his four-year-old litigation against the league and various teams. In the third amendment to his initial civil complaint, Flores has added specific allegations of retaliation against the NFL. The 483-paragraph, 106-page document includes at paragraphs 298 through 312 allegations that the NFL has retaliated against Flores since the filing of his initial lawsuit. "Despite it being widely understood by the public and sports media that Mr. Flores should be considered one of the elite Head Coach candidates, Mr. Flores has not been offered a Head Coach job since starting this lawsuit," the new complaint alleges at paragraph 311. From paragraph 312 of the new complaint: "The NFL teams’ failure to hire Mr. Flores is consistent with an NFL Head Coach hiring process that is [sic] has for decades treated Black candidates disparately to white candidates and led to significantly disparate impact. It is also consistent with a culture of retaliation in which NFL teams close ranks against those who raise complaints of discrimination." The new factual allegations did not result in an additional cause of action; the existing lawsuit already includes multiple specific claims for retaliation. As to the concept of retaliation based on the failure of teams to hire Flores as its head coach, the current complaint lists only one team — the Texans. In 2022, Houston made Flores one of three finalists for the job (along with Josh McCown and Jonathan Gannon) before hiring Lovie Smith instead. Flores claims that the decision to not hire him was motivated by the filing of his lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams. Although no specific other teams have been accused of failing to hire Flores in retaliation for filing and pursuing his lawsuit, the discovery process could lead to evidence that would support a finding that Flores was not given proper consideration by one or more teams with vacancies during the 2023, 2024, 2025, and/or 2026 hiring cycles. The contention that the NFL maintains a "culture of retaliation" shows that Flores suspects his failure to get more interviews and/or any offers resulted from retaliation. Time will tell whether other specific teams are added to the case as defendants. Flores's current claims target the Dolphins, Texans, Broncos, and Giants. (His co-plaintiffs, Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, have sued the Cardinals and Titans, respectively.) Obviously, Flores won't be able to force any team to hire him. His aggressive legal arguments won't make that any easier. Throughout the litigation, however, he has chosen doing what he believes is right over what would be expedient for his career. And so he'll continue to serve as Minnesota's defensive coordinator, while waiting for a head-coaching opportunity that may never materialize. In the end, the NFL and/or specific teams could be on the wrong end of a verdict that requires them to pay Flores as if he has been a head coach since 2022. Even if Flores never becomes a head coach again.