Brian Flores sues the NFL

Former Miami dolphins coach Brian Flores is suing the NFL for discrimination after he was fired and passed over by the Denver broncos and New York giants for a head coaching position. Flores received a text from Bill Belichick “congratulating” him on getting the giants’ head coach position. But, the text was actually meant for Brian Daboll who would go on to get the job. The suit brings up the Rooney rule which requires NFL teams to interview ethnically and racially diverse candidates for head coaching and assistant coaching positions. With me now for more is Kenneth Shropshire, CEO of the Global Sport Institute.

Shropshire has doubts that Flores’s odds of being hired in the NFL is unlikely.  “Would you hire someone who has sued you?” he said, adding “but more surprising things have happened in sports.”

Shropshire is not convinced Flores will win on the basis of racial discrimination. He said “It’s tough to make your case on just data.” However, he said if the allegations Flores made are true it could be very bad.

“There’s something bad there” if the Dolphins were intentionally losing to get better draft picks, especially if they were getting paid for to fail.

In the NFL, the Rooney rule requires at least one minority candidate for coaches when teams are hiring.

“When the rule first went in force, it certainly had a major impact,” Shropshire said, adding “Reliance completely on that rule is not the path to take.”

The question of racial discrimination by teams when hiring coaches remains.

“That’s really one of the allegations” that team owners not comfortable hiring black coaches.

“Choosing a coach is a very personal thing, it’s like choosing a wife,” Shropshire said.

“There’s a lot going on in their head, and they haven’t really realized yet that a black man can lead them to victory,” he said.