On the first day of Black History Month, Brian Flores set the NFL world ablaze by filing a suit against the league and three teams, claiming racial discrimination against him and other minority coaches within the league’s hiring process.
The shocking part of it all is that Flores was in the middle of interviews with teams, most notably the Houston Texans when the suit was made public, but the former Dolphins coach made it clear that he understood that this decision would affect his standing as a potential hire and would take the consequences that came with it as a sacrifice for change.
Well, it doesn’t seem as if Flores is taking too kindly to exactly that happening, as the coach has now included the Texans in the suit, claiming that due to their eventual hire of Lovie Smith (who worth noting, is black) was swayed due to the lawsuit filed by Flores and didn’t factor in only his football cache.
“Flores was one of the three finalists for the job. Then, the job went to Lovie Smith. Common sense suggests that the Texans realized they couldn’t hire unproven and inexperienced Josh McCown, and they wouldn’t hire Flores. Smith became the compromise candidate, arguably thrown into the mix late to allow the Texans to avoid hiring Flores.”
Per Flores’ legal team, he is “happy to hear” that Houston hired a Black head coach, but was disappointed when he was not selected for the position because of his “decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.”
“Mr. Flores is happy to hear that the Texans have hired a Black head coach, Lovie Smith, as Mr. Flores’ goal in bringing his case is to provide real opportunities for Black and minority candidates to be considered for coaching and executive positions within the NFL,” the statement said. “However, we would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coach position and, after a great interview and mutual interest, it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.
Flores was also interviewed for the Saints job, which was eventually filled by New Orleans defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
