Brian Flores says he declined to sign non-disclosure agreement when Dolphins fired him
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores said he declined to sign a separation agreement with the team when he was fired Jan. 10.
Flores and his lawyers Doug Wigdor and John Elefterakis appeared Tuesday on HBO's "Real Sports" to discuss the matter with Bryant Gumbel.
Flores' lawyers confirmed that he had the opportunity to make "millions of dollars" if he was willing to sign the full agreement upon his termination from the team. The agreement included a waiver, an NDA (non-disclosure agreement), confidentiality and non-disparagement agreement, all of which could "buy" a coach's silence according to Wigdor.
Flores – who was recently hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach – filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three of its teams Feb. 1, alleging racial discrimination by the league's teams in hiring practices. The teams sued include the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the Dolphins.
"Just signing that separation agreement would have really silenced me," Flores said.
NEVER MISS A MOMENT: Subscribe to our NFL newsletter to stay informed
Paste BN SPORTS EXCLUSIVE: The 50 most influential Black people in sport
"To Coach Flores' credit, he wasn't gonna sign that, because he wanted – it wasn't about the money," Wigdor said. "If it was about the money he would have signed it. What he did instead was he filed a lawsuit so that he could help other coaches, now and in the future."
MORE: ‘I think race played a role in my firing' by the Miami Dolphins
MORE: Brian Flores, currently suing the NFL, hired by Steelers as defensive assistant
The Dolphins issued a statement Tuesday denying Flores' claims that franchise owner Stephen Ross offered an NDA, stating the allegations are "categorically false."
"This latest assertion by Brian Flores that Steve Ross mentioned an NDA to him is categorically false," the team wrote. "This just did not happen and we simply cannot understand why Brian continues this pattern of making unfounded statements that he knows are untrue. We are fully cooperating with the NFL investigation and looking forward to all of the facts coming out which we are confident will prove that his claims are false and defamatory."
Minutes after this statement was released Tuesday evening, Flores' attorneys took to social media to provide screenshots of the draft agreement and payment termination notice. One screenshot detailed the non-disparagement clause, which essentially states Flores may not say anything negative about the organization at anytime.
It is unclear in the provided screenshots if the NDA was proposed directly by Ross, however the payment termination notice to Flores was signed by Brandon Shore, the team's senior vice president of football and business administration.
OPINION: In Brian Flores' lawsuit, where are the white players and coaches?
MORE: Dolphins owner Stephen Ross calls Brian Flores' allegations 'false, malicious and defamatory'
Among the allegations of racist hiring practices within the lawsuit against the league and the three teams, Flores said that Ross offered him $100,000 per game lost in 2019, a claim that Flores' attorneys say they have evidence of and which Ross has denied.
Contact Analis Bailey at aabailey@usatoday.com or on Twitter @analisbailey.