Opinion: Brian Flores' lawsuit put NFL's systemic racism against coaches on full display
If you want to know what it's like for most Black coaches in the NFL, listen to what former Miami coach Brian Flores says in a proposed class-action lawsuit. If true, and I believe him, it will be one of the most eye-opening moments in recent league history.
What Flores says are allegations and haven't been proven, but if you've ever spoken to Black NFL coaches over the decades, they sound incredibly familiar. Mainly, that most Black coaches don't really have an honest chance of getting many of the head coaching jobs.
They get token interviews and lose to less qualified white coaches. They are portrayed often as difficult to work with. Or angry. Or lazy. Or not team players.
Flores' lawsuit might have provided some of the best proof yet that the following is true:
Black people are allowed play in the NFL. They can be assistant coaches. A handful might be able to sneak through the landmine that is the NFL's systemic racism. But then comes a cement barrier that's difficult, and at times impossible, to breach. Black coaches stand at this impediment as less qualified white coaches pass them by.
In many ways, as Flores' lawsuit alleges, the NFL has a sign on its head coaching doors: Most Blacks need not apply.
Currently Mike Tomlin is the only Black head coach in the league.
One key part of the lawsuit says the Giants scheduled a sham interview with Flores to comply with the Rooney Rule, and that Flores learned that his interview was a joke because Patriots coach Bill Belichick, his former boss, accidentally texted him a congratulatory message, believing the Giants were hiring him.
According to the lawsuit, Belichick later stated that he had misunderstood another text he received and that he was actually told the Giants were hiring Brian Daboll. The Giants did pick Daboll. Belichick's texts suggest that they had already made that decision.
Thus they interviewed Flores due to the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview a minority coach, despite knowing they had already decided on Daboll, the lawsuit alleges.
Flores also says in the lawsuit that the Broncos put him through an identical sham interview three years ago, and they never intended to hire him. The Broncos hired Vic Fangio.
None of this is unusual. There have been stories told like this told privately (and sometimes publicly) by Black coaches for decades.
This time, though, the NFL's systemic racism may be put on display in a court of law.
“In making the decision to file the class action complaint today, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game that I love and that has done so much for my family and me," Flores said in a statement. "My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”
This statement is key and, to me, more proof that Flores is telling the truth. That's because Flores probably knows he'll get Kaepernicked, banished from the league, and never coach again.
Flores understood this lawsuit would likely end his NFL career. Yet he filed it anyway.
It's brave what he's done, and honorable.
And if true, and if this lawsuit gains steam, he will provide some of the best proof yet of the hurdles Black coaches face in the NFL. Actually, it's more than that.
It's that they are treated like second-class citizens.