Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilkes joins Brian Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against NFL
Two other coaches have joined former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ class action lawsuit over allegations of discrimination against black candidates for top-level coaching and management jobs in the National Football League (NFL), according to a revised complaint filed Thursday.
Flores, who is Black, was fired as the Dolphins’ head coach in January after a back-to-back season with a winning record. In February, he filed his lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, accusing the NFL and its 32 teams of racial discrimination.
The league has previously said that Flores’ case lacked competence and that the Dolphins wanted an arbitrator. Flores is now the Pittsburgh Steelers senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.
The revised indictment included two new plaintiffs – former Arizona Cardinal head coach Steve Wilkes and league veteran Ray Horton.
Brian Flores has sued the NFL for practicing racist recruitment
Allegedly, Wilkes was not given a “meaningful chance to succeed” in his role with the Cardinals before being “unfairly and discriminatingly fired” in December, which he kept for the 2018 season.
The Cardinals say the decision they made after the 2018 season was tough.
“However, as we said at the time, they were driven entirely by the best interests of our organization and the team needed to improve,” they said in a statement.
“We are convinced that the facts reflect this and prove that these allegations are untrue.”
Horton was a defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans before being interviewed for the coaching job in January 2016. In the complaint, Horton said the interview was a “job” conducted to comply with the “Rooney Rules”, which minority candidates must consider for top coaching and staff work.
Ray Horton said his head coach’s interview with the Tennessee Titans was a “sham”
The Titans did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The NFL added declined to comment on the two plaintiffs.
Flores also accused Dolphin owner Stephen Ross of incentives to help secure a higher draft pick to pay $ 100,000 for each loss in 2019. Flores said he refused to comply.
Ross has categorically denied the allegations.
The Denver Broncos and the New York Giants were also named in Flores’ case, alleging that the two teams conducted fake interviews with him to satisfy Rooney’s rules.
The NFL and the teams have denied Flores’ claim.
