Brian Flores risked his future after launching a lawsuit against the NFL, the Broncos and 2 other teams for racial discrimination. And John Elway fired back at the former HC.
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Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL, the Miami Dolphins, the Denver Broncos, and the New York Giants for alleged racism in hiring. He presented that the teams only brought him in under the facade of the NFL’s Rooney Rule that requires teams to interview a minority candidate for the position.
“I’ve had nine interviews with NFL clubs,” Flores said. “There was one interview where anyone was late, and that wasn’t me that was late, that was the interviewers who were late, and that was with the Broncos. I think there was a reason why they were late. I think they had been out the night before.
“When you sit at a table with five people who are interviewing you, you can tell who is asking questions, who is into the interview, who is not necessarily in the right state in that moment. But even then, I put my best foot forward and showed why I was a good candidate for that job. I’m always going to do that. But I certainly did not feel like I was taken seriously, and I was just there as a Rooney Rule [candidate].”
John Elway responded to Brian Flores’ allegations
Elway responded to Brian Flores allegations by putting out a stern statement to the public.
“While I was not planning to respond publicly to the false and defamatory claims by Brian Flores, I could not be silent any longer with my character, integrity and professionalism being attacked,” Elway said in a statement. “I took Coach Flores very seriously as a candidate for our head coaching position in 2019 and enjoyed our three-and-a-half hour interview with him. Along with the rest of our group, I was prepared, ready and fully engaged during the entire interview as Brian shared his experience and vision for our team. It’s unfortunate and shocking to learn for the first time this week that Brian felt differently about our interview with him.
“For Brian to make an assumption about my appearance and state of mind early that morning was subjective, hurtful and just plain wrong. If I appeared ‘disheveled,’ as he claimed, it was because we had flown in during the middle of the night — immediately following another interview in Denver — and were going on a few hours of sleep to meet the only window provided to us.
“I interviewed Brian in good faith, giving him the same consideration and opportunity as every other candidate for our head coaching position in 2019.”
Currently, only one of the NFL’s 32 teams employs a black head coach. The Pittsburgh Steelers with Mike Tomlin, who has never had a losing season in his 15 years with the franchise. Brian Flores was the other and had just led the Miami Dolphins to back-to-back winning season, but was let go nonetheless.
If the allegations are true, the people responsible must be expelled.
