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A federal appeal court on Thursday gave up that Minnesota Viking’s defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ trial against NFL for racial discrimination could go to trial.
The 2nd US Appeals Court in Manhattan maintained Judge Valerie Caproni’s previous decision that Flores can continue with claims against the league and Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Houston Texans.
The order rejected the league’s attempt to force Flores into arbitration who would have had commissioner Roger Goodell as the arbitrator.
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Defensive coordinator Brian Flores from Minnesota Vikings before a game against Green Bay Packers at US Bank Stadium 31 December 2023 in Minneapolis. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
NFL answered via spokesman Brian McCarthy.
“We respectfully disagree with the panel’s decision and will seek further review,” the statement states.
Flores sued the NFL and several teams in 2022 and claimed that the league was “rich in racism”, especially in its hiring and promotion of black coaches. Two other coaches later joined the trial, seeking to continue as a class case, although Caproni stated that their claims could go to arbitration based on the language of contracts they signed with teams.
Flores is the defensive coordinator of Minnesota Vikings after working earlier as a coach for New England Patriots, from 2008 to 2018; Miami Dolphins, from 2019 to 2021; and Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022. He joined the Vikings in 2023.
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Miami Dolphins -Trainer Brian Flores and Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (Susan Stocker/South Florida/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
In a decision written by Circuit Judge Jose A. Cabranes, the Court of Appeal said the NFL’s arbitration rules forcing Flores to present his demands for arbitration before Goodell has no protection of the federal arbitration law because it “only gives arbitration in name.”
2nd Circuit said that the NFL Constitution’s arbitration provision “Contractly contains something independent arbitration forum, no bilateral dispute resolution and no procedure.”
“Instead, insult the basic presumptions of our arbitration case law” by forcing the claim to be decided by the NFL’s “most important director,” the court of appeal said.
Douglas H. Wigdor and David E. Gottlieb, lawyers representing Flores, said in a statement that the NFL has been dependent on a partial and unreasonable arbitration process for too long.
“This decision sends a clear message: This practice must end,” they said.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores from Minnesota Vikings before a game against Green Bay Packers at US Bank Stadium December 29, 2024 in Minneapolis. (Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)
Caproni said in a decision in March 2023 that descriptions from the coaches of their experiences of racial discrimination in a league with a “long history of systematic discrimination against black players, coaches and leaders – are incredibly worrying.”
“Although the clear majority of professional footballers are black, only a small percentage of coaches are black,” she said.
