Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is embarking on a
historic mission: to expose how the business of the NFL is a game
dominated by good ol’ boys.
On February 1, Flores filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status in
Manhattan federal court against the Miami Dolphins, New York Giants,
Denver Broncos, and the NFL, and in doing so, he blew the lid off the
systemic racism that’s corrupting America’s most popular spectator
sport.
By coming forward with his allegations, Flores is risking it all: He
may never work as a head coach again.
The juiciest accusation involves Flores’ former boss, Dolphins owner
Stephen Ross, who fired Flores last month despite two consecutive
winning seasons. Flores claims in the 58-page lawsuit that the
billionaire owner offered him $100,000 for each game he lost in 2019 —
the better to secure a high first-round pick in the NFL draft.
If litigation and/or an NFL investigation find that Flores’ claims are
true, Ross will have to sell the team. (Ross released a statement that
said, in part, “I take great personal exception to these malicious
attacks.” In a separate statement, the Dolphins said, “We vehemently
deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the
diversity and inclusion throughout our organization.”
In light of Flores’ allegations that the NFL’s hiring practices for
minority coaches are a sham, here are ten things the league needs to
implement to create real racial equality:
1. The NFL should expand into three new markets with Black owners.
Since the Broncos are up for sale, the team should be sold to a Black
ownership group.
2. Team presidents, general managers, and coaches should not be
permitted to be represented by the same agents who represent NFL
players.
3. A sports agent should not be able to represent more than three head coaches.
4. Considering that most teams use public funds to pay for stadiums, a
blue-ribbon committee should be created with members from the
community (including the top local elected official) to have a say in
who is hired as a team’s head coach.
5. Players and the community should have a say in who becomes the new
General Manager and head coach of an NFL team. There should be a vote
among the players and the blue-ribbon committee to determine who
becomes the new general manager and head coach of an NFL team: The
owner’s vote should only be worth 51 percent, while the votes that the
players and the committee cast receive 25 and 24 percent of the vote,
respectively.
6. All NFL communications should be public record.
7. Each NFL team should make a donation of $100 million to a
historically black college football program in their state or nearby.
8. The NFL Network should enter a television contract with
historically black colleges that pay the schools $500 million.
9. If a team has not hired a Black team president, general manager, or
head coach after three vacancies, that team should lose four draft
picks for three years.
10. Owners who violate these rules more than twice should be forced to
sell their franchise.
