Other BrianGate - The Flores lawsuit against racist hiring practices

[Exe Gesis]

Jason McCourty: “I was in Cleveland in 2017, there’s no way we were trying to win”​

Posted by Michael David Smith on February 5, 2022, 5:28 AM EST

Jason McCourty, who played on the 2017 Browns team that went 0-16, believes coach Hue Jackson was speaking the truth when he said owner Jimmy Haslam incentivized him to lose.

Although Jackson later softened his comments and Haslam denied the charge, McCourty said it was obvious that the Browns didn’t want to win.

“I was in Cleveland in 2017,” McCourty said on his podcast. “There’s no way we were trying to win. It was very obvious. That is to no surprise to anyone. You don’t need me to corroborate the story and say ‘We were tanking, we were trying to lose.’ Duh. I said this when I got to New England, you realize winning in the NFL is not easy, so you don’t want to take it for granted, you celebrate your wins. But the year I spent in Cleveland also taught me, winning ain’t this hard either. You don’t just go 1-31. It’s not that hard to figure out on the other end of it.”

McCourty said that even when team owners aren’t as blatant about it as Haslam and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross have been accused of being, the NFL itself incentivizes losing by giving the first overall pick in the NFL draft to the team with the worst record.

“So maybe there needs to be a lottery or something like the NBA does,” McCourty said.

Realistically, as long as the NFL incentivizes losing with the draft order (not to mention other incentives for losing like waiver claim priority and easier schedules), some teams are going to try to lose. The NFL should eliminate those perverse incentives.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Hue Jackson: I was never offered money to lose​

Posted by Michael David Smith on February 5, 2022, 8:12 AM EST

After former Miami coach Brian Flores said he was offered $100,000 per loss in 2019 because Dolphins owner Stephen Ross wanted the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, former Cleveland coach Hue Jackson suggested that he got a similar offer from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. But now Jackson has backtracked.

Jackson initially started his backtrack earlier in the week, but on Friday night he stated clearly that Haslam never offered to pay him to lose games.

“No, I was never offered money like Brian had mentioned,” Jackson told CNN. “I think this is a totally different situation but has some similarities.”

Still, Jackson stands by his claim that Haslam wanted to lose, and that Jackson himself complained about Haslam’s plan at the time. Haslam also said Black coaches like himself and Flores have been thrown into situations where their owners weren’t trying to win.

“I told Jimmy that what he was doing was very destructive, to not do this because it’s going to hurt my career and every other coach that worked with me and every player on the team. And I told him that it would hurt every Black coach that would follow me. And I have the documents to prove this,” Jackson said.

Asked why he doesn’t produce those documents, Jackson responded, “Those things will come to light at the right time.”

The extent to which Flores and Jackson can prove their claims that Ross and Haslam were trying not to win may determine how hard the NFL — and possibly the legal system — crack down on them. But there’s no doubt that it’s the NFL’s own rules that incentivize teams to lose. If the NFL wants teams to play to win, it should stop rewarding teams that lose.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Under threat of defamation, Jackson appears to be walking his claims back. Wonder if Flores will too

 

[Constantgin]

 

[Exe Gesis]

Roger Goodell says progress on diversity with head coaches has been unacceptable​

Posted by Michael David Smith on February 5, 2022, 10:21 AM EST

Within a couple hours of former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filing a lawsuit alleging racist hiring practices, the NFL released a statement saying the suit was without merit. But in a memo to top NFL executives, Goodell acknowledged a failure to make progress on increasing diversity among head coaches.

The memo, issued to club presidents and chief executives, touts the NFL’s efforts at diversity but doesn’t hide the plain fact that there isn’t much diversity within the ranks of head coaches.

“We have made significant efforts to promote diversity and adopted numerous policies and programs which have produced positive change in many areas, however we must acknowledge that particularly with respect to head coaches the results have been unacceptable,” Goodell wrote. “We will reevaluate and examine all policies, guidelines and initiatives relating to diversity, equity and inclusion, including as they relate to gender.”

And despite the claim that Flores’ lawsuit was meritless, Goodell did acknowledge legitimate concerns that Flores has addressed.

“We understand the concerns expressed by Coach Flores and others this week,” Goodell wrote. “While the legal process moves forward, we will not wait to reassess and modify our strategies to ensure that they are consistent with our values and longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

 

[Chris25]

Under threat of defamation, Jackson appears to be walking his claims back. Wonder if Flores will too

I imagine Flores would have told Hue he was hurting the lawsuit and to be quiet.

 

[Exe Gesis]

I imagine Flores would have told Hue he was hurting the lawsuit and to be quiet.

Everything Hue touches turns to a L

 

[Exe Gesis]

Brian Flores’s lawyers suspect Roger Goodell memo is a “public relations ploy”​

Posted by Mike Florio on February 5, 2022, 1:22 PM EST

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, ignoring the reality that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, said plenty of things in a Saturday memo to all teams about the league’s abysmal record of giving minority candidates head-coaching opportunities. The lawyers for the man whose lawsuit sparked the memo have responded.

“Unfortunately, immediately after Coach Flores filed the class action lawsuit, the NFL and various teams reflexively, and without any investigation, denied the detailed allegations set forth in the 60-page complaint,” attorneys Doug Wigdor and John Elefterakis said in a statement. “As a result, when we spoke to the national media the following day we made clear that the NFL should view this class action lawsuit as an opportunity to engage in real change and confront the obvious reality. The statement made today by the Commissioner is, on the surface, a positive first step, but we suspect that this is more of a publication relations ploy than real commitment to change. For too many years, the NFL has hidden behind the cover of foundations that were supposed to protect the rights of Black players and coaches, as well as law firms and experts that purport to be unbiased and independent, but are paid for by the NFL. All the while, systemic racial bias has festered in the NFL’s front offices. The NFL is now rolling out the same playbook yet again and that is precisely why this lawsuit was filed.

“We would be pleased to talk to the Commissioner about real change, but unfortunately he has not reached out to us to engage in such a discussion. In fact, nobody from the NFL has reached out to us. Absent such a discussion followed by unbiased and concrete change, we believe that a court or government agency must order a federal monitor to oversee the NFL as the NFL cannot continue to police itself.”

While it shouldn’t surprise the lawyers that the Commissioner hasn’t immediately called them up to have a friendly chat, the notion that they’re looking for a “federal monitor” is intriguing. The NFL loves to handle its own business, and it loathes external oversight. At a time when it reasonably should fear the creation of a federal agency charged with overseeing pro sports due to ensure the integrity of gambling on games, the league also should be concerned about some sort of federal oversight of its hiring practices.

Then again, maybe that truly will be the only thing to get the attention of the oligarchs who listen to no one, including the league office.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Goodell memo vows investigation regarding claims of deliberate tanking​

Posted by Mike Florio on February 5, 2022, 10:49 AM EST

Sometimes, the best stuff in a corporate memo is buried at the bottom.

Saturday’s one-pager from Commissioner Roger Goodell to all “Club Executives” and “Club Presidents” purports in its subject line to be about “Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”

Included at the bottom of the memo is a clear, albeit indirect, reference to another topic. Goodell addresses the claim made by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores that team owner Stephen Ross offered Flores $100,000 for each game lost in 2019.

“We also take seriously any issue relating to the integrity of NFL games,” Goodell says in the penultimate paragraph of the memo. “These matters will be reviewed thoroughly and independently. We expect that these independent experts will receive full cooperation from everyone associated with the league or any member club as this work proceeds.”

Given what we learned on Friday about the supposedly “independent investigation” conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson regarding the Washington Commanders and team owner Mister Snyder, it’s impossible not to wonder whether Goodell means “independent” as in “let’s figure out the facts and tell everyone the truth and disseminate punishment as warranted” or “let’s hire someone who will help us come up with a way to best cover our asses in the event the crap hits the fan.” In Washington, it CLEARLY was the latter.

Indeed, we will now assume moving forward that, whenever the NFL uses the word “independent” in connection with any type of investigation, it means only that they don’t have someone already on the payroll to do whatever needs to be done in order to protect and advance the best interests of Big Shield and the oligarchs who own its teams, so they need to hire an independent contractor to do it.

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

I knew Hue Jackson would only make things harder. He probably signed a contract and was reminded he would only be implicating himself in tanking so had to walk things back.

Genuine dumbass.

 

[ams4crows]

All this is gonna do is make owners consider NDA's when telling coaches to not win, it's never gonna stop while losing earns you too picks

 

[Exe Gesis]

Brian Flores should not want Hue Jackson to join the lawsuit​

Posted by Mike Florio on February 6, 2022, 11:07 AM EST

The 58-page lawsuit filed five days ago by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores mentions plenty of names and examples when it comes to the racial “double standard” (as admitted by NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent) in NFL coaching. Flores at no point mentions former Browns coach Hue Jackson.

That likely wasn’t a mistake. Beyond the fact that Hue simply wasn’t a very good coach is the fact that Hue has, in recent days, been all over the place, making strong accusations that he was paid to lose games and then clumsily walking them back. While it makes sense for Jackson to change his tune on cash-for-clunking if (unlike Flores) Hue actually took the money and thus committed a potential violation of federal law, Jackson has come off in recent days as far less credible than Flores. At times, Jackson has seemed not credible at all.

Multiple people in and around the sport and the industry of covering it have expressed both support for Flores and a hope that Jackson won’t join the case. Jackson, in our opinion, could operate as an impediment to Flores’s efforts.

Flores and his lawyers quite possibly know it. The Flores lawsuit cites Jim Caldwell, Steve Wilks, David Culley, Kris Richard, Teryl Austin, and Eric Bieniemy as victims of discrimination. Any of them would be viable candidates to join the Flores lawsuit. Jackson simply would not be.

Indeed, Jackson wasn’t fired after going 0-16 in 2017. The Browns had a multi-year strategy in place during Jackson’s tenure. It wasn’t as clear and direct as the scheme Flores alleges in Miami, but the Browns obviously weren’t prioritizing winning. And Jackson went along with it.

So if Jackson contacts Flores and wants to add his name to the title of the case, Flores should politely decline. Besides, if Jackson believes his rights were violated in some way, nothing stops him from filing his own lawsuit.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Brian Flores litigation could provide a path to more Washington emails​

Posted by Mike Florio on February 7, 2022, 8:28 AM EST

On the surface, the lawsuit filed by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores has nothing to do with the Washington Commanders investigation and various associated issues. Just below the surface, the Flores case creates a connection that could force the NFL and Washington to allow more documents to be produced.

From paragraphs 73 through 90 of his complaint, Flores addresses the situation involving the emails from the Washington investigation that resulted in Gruden resigning as coach of the Raiders.

“It simply cannot be a surprise to NFL executives, insiders and team owners — who have collectively spent the last three decades in the proximity of Mr. Gruden — that this is who Mr. Gruden is and that these are the beliefs he harbors,” Flores alleges. “Nonetheless, Mr. Gruden remained an inner-circle candidate for virtually every Head Coach position over the 10-year period that followed his departure from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008. . . . When the news of Mr. Gruden’s racist emails finally surfaced, rather than an unequivocal rebuke and a for-cause termination, the Raiders allowed him to graciously resign and claim that it was due to his desire not to be a distraction.”

Flores also points to the termination of G.M. Reggie McKenzie, who is Black, and his replacement with Mike Mayock, who is white. Flores takes it a step farther, suggesting that the Mayock-Gruden partnership was responsible for a sharp decrease in Black players on the Raiders.

“Under Mr. McKenzie, the Raiders had the highest percentage of Black players at 82.3%, and he won the NFL Executive of the Year Award in 2016 after compiling a 12-4 records,” Flores alleges. “Under all-white leadership (Owner, General Manager and Head Coach), the percentage of Black players on the Raiders decreased every year that followed. By 2021, the percentage of Black players on the Raiders roster dropped to 67.2%.”

It’s a strong allegation, suggesting that racial bias extended to the selection of players by Gruden, who was as a practical (if not literal) matter running the show with the Raiders. Regardless, the inclusion of Gruden’s situation and the manner in which it came to light could result in Flores’s lawyers trying to gather more information regarding the emails sent and received by Gruden and others, which could reveal more statements indicating racial biases and prejudices.

The standard for the discovery phase of litigation is broad. Parties are entitled to seek evidence relevant to the case, as well as information reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of relevant evidence. While the NFL would surely argue that a request to inspect the full 650,000-email cache from which the Gruden emails came as a fishing expedition, the Gruden emails — selectively and deliberately leaked by someone to the media — provide sound reason to believe that there are plenty of fish in this specific sea.

So if Gruden’s case fails to get off the ground and if Congress fails to get to the materials through its current investigation, maybe Flores and his class action will provide the arrow that hits the bull’s-eye, forcing transparency onto the Washington investigation at a time when the league and the team want to keep all emails and anything else related to the situation buried.

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

Smh. Flores is losing the plot now.

 

[Exe Gesis]

The NFL crashing and burning to some large degree is important if the entire league is going to improve in many facets. The apple is fairly rotten in many ways. Exposing Goodell and multiple owners for racist remarks, fixing, general coverups, sexism, sexual assualts, and scapegoating personalities, etc, and having them forced to resign and the league to drastically change, under some federal sports independent watchdog, would be a magnificent outcome. This is what often happens when an organization grows too big, too rich, too powerful. A critical mass eventually happens.

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

Citing less black players cause of a GM and HC change is just dumb however.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Sighting less black players cause of a GM and HC change is just dumb however.

That was already in his opening lawsuit. He didnt suddenly lose the plot adding more stuff. Flores reaching for monsters no doubt. Trying to gather up all examples of possible racism means hes gonna over-reach, see monsters when there are none, and weaken his lawsuit.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

He gave up on a guy they drafted 5th overall, only his first full season as starter. Thats what you call ruining a QBs development. What we always say about how a bad coach can ruin a player, not players fault, too soon to give up on a player, etc, that we often agree upon when discussing other qbs and other orgs

Like Bill Parcells once said, if they're asking you to cook the meal, they could at least let you choose the ingredients. There's no point in hiring a coach and then completely tuning him out on the choice of quarterback. The Dolphins would be in a far better position with Herbert than Tua.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Like Bill Parcells once said, if they're asking you to cook the meal, they could at least let you choose the ingredients. There's no point in hiring a coach and then completely tuning him out on the choice of quarterback. The Dolphins would be in a far better position with Herbert than Tua.

They all whiffed on Herbert. It was a group think buy in on Tua after Burrow was gone.

 

[00Stinger]

Brian Flores Attorney Releases Statement After He Texans HC Search, Says Lawsuit Is Reason Why He Didn't Get Job

The Houston Texans completed their head coaching search and hired their defensive coordinator, Lovie Smith. The search took a turn on Sunday night after it was reported that the team was interviewing 63-year old, Smith. Initially, it was reported that the search was down to former NFL...

dailysnark.com

Flores is happy that a black coach got appointed but it is obvious that he didn't get appointed because of racism.

Maybe they just thought that Smith was a better candidate?

 

[aussiedude]

Brian Flores Attorney Releases Statement After He Texans HC Search, Says Lawsuit Is Reason Why He Didn't Get Job

The Houston Texans completed their head coaching search and hired their defensive coordinator, Lovie Smith. The search took a turn on Sunday night after it was reported that the team was interviewing 63-year old, Smith. Initially, it was reported that the search was down to former NFL...

dailysnark.com

View attachment 1323993

Flores is happy that a black coach got appointed but it is obvious that he didn't get appointed because of racism.

Maybe they just thought that Smith was a better candidate?

I would like to see someone make that argument with a strait face. I didnt even know Lovie was back in the NFL after getting sacked from Illinois.

 

[drd23]

I would like to see someone make that argument with a strait face. I didnt even know Lovie was back in the NFL after getting sacked from Illinois.

wdym? That's literally the statement his lawyers tweeted

 

[00Stinger]

I would like to see someone make that argument with a strait face. I didnt even know Lovie was back in the NFL after getting sacked from Illinois.

Pretty good record at Chicago. Made a superbowl with Grossman at QB (thats pretty ******* amazing)

Tampa stint wasn't great though and college I have NFI as I don't follow it

 

[aussiedude]

wdym? That's literally the statement his lawyers tweeted

One of 3 finalists. the Texans wanted McCown. but settled for Lovie in fear of backlash for hiring a person who has never coached football.

 

[aussiedude]

Pretty good record at Chicago. Made a superbowl with Grossman at QB (thats pretty ******* amazing)

Tampa stint wasn't great though and college I have NFI as I don't follow it

He was good in Chicago. but then the game passed him or he just didnt evolve with the times. Not sure i would put much in his Tampa day.