Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Texts sent from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could play a key role in the lawsuit former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores has brought against the NFL and all 32 teams alleging racial discrimination in the league.
According to screenshots of the texts included in the lawsuit, Belichick mistakenly messaged Flores when he apparently intended to send a congratulatory text to Brian Daboll:
Ari Meirov @MySportsUpdate
Former <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dolphins?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Dolphins</a> HC Brian Flores is suing the NFL and the Giants alleging racism in their hiring process. Flores has texts from Bill Belichick congratulating him for getting the job — but Flores had yet to interview. The text was meant for Brian Daboll. <a href=”https://t.co/gmPUw9gHIq”>https://t.co/gmPUw9gHIq</a> <a href=”https://t.co/tyTztTf3br”>pic.twitter.com/tyTztTf3br</a>
“I hear from Buffalo & NYG that you are their guy,” Belichick wrote to Flores before clarifying that he was texting the wrong person. Flores and Daboll both began their NFL coaching careers in New England under Belichick.
At the time of the text, Flores had not yet had his interview for the New York Giants opening, which took place Thursday. Two days later, the Giants officially announced Daboll as the team’s next head coach.
Daboll may have had an inside track for the job after the Giants hired former Buffalo Bills assistant manager Joe Schoen as their new general manager. Daboll spent the past four years as the Bills offensive coordinator before joining the Giants.
Flores said in the suit he had dinner with Schoen and interviewed for the position despite knowing it was already going to Daboll.
The lawsuit described it as “an interview that was held for no reason other than for the Giants to demonstrate falsely to the League Commissioner Roger Goodell and the public at large that it was in compliance with the Rooney Rule.”
The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least one candidate from a historically excluded group for open head coaching or front office positions.
Flores also alleged he had a “sham interview” with the Denver Broncos in 2019 when then-general manager John Elway and others showed up an hour late for the meeting looking “disheveled” and “obvious that they had [been] drinking heavily the night before.”
The Broncos later hired Vic Fangio, who is white, for the position.
Flores eventually became head coach of the Dolphins, going 5-11 in his first season before producing back-to-back winning seasons the past two years. He was surprisingly fired after the team finished with a 9-8 record in 2021.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
