Four years after Brian Flores originally filed his lawsuit against the NFL, the latest news could send shockwaves across the league.
Shortly after Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores was fired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins , he, along with Steve Wilks and Ray Horton , sued the NFL and multiple partner clubs for their hiring practices. Since then, it's been a battle with the league to get the case actually heard in a court of law.
Now that the case is going to the discovery phase, Flores' legal team is taking the next step, and that could be massive for a multitude of reasons.
Brian Flores sued the NFL and multiple clubs for allegedly "racist hiring practices" after the Miami Dolphins fired him.
The process has been slow over the last four years, and has been a major factor in Flores still being a defensive coordinator.
Initially, the partner clubs mentioned were: Miami Dolphins, New York Giants , Denver Broncos , Arizona Cardinals , Houston Texans , and Tennessee Titans .
The next step of the lawsuit came to light on Tuesday, as Daniel Kaplan of Front Office Sports reported that Flores has subpoenaed 25 more teams for information about their hiring practices. Here's the interesting thing about that information: the only team without receiving a subpoena is his current employer, the Vikings.
It's a very interesting situation that Flores and the league find themselves in, and it's going to get more and more interesting.
The move comes as he is set to file a new amended complaint Wednesday, the second time this year he's added to the charges in his original 2022 discrimination suit that rocked the NFL with allegations of systemic racism in head coach hiring.
"The proposed Third Amended Complaint also improperly purports to add a brand new claim for retaliation against the NFL that in no way responds to, let alone cures, the deficiencies in the Second Amended Complaint," the NFL wrote last week to the judge overseeing the case. "In any event, that claim too-asserting supposed retaliation based upon the NFL's enforcement of its arbitration provisions in employment agreements that this Court found to be binding upon the parties, is meritless."
Daniel kaplan
Front Office Sports
How will this shape up in a court of law? That remains to be seen, and if this amended complaint is anything like the initial lawsuit, this could take a while to parse out. What it does do is raise multiple questions about the future of Flores.
With him having every team other than his employer mentioned, that could be a significant issue. When teams interview candidates, it's not just a conversation about "where you see yourself in five years." There are deep strategy discussions involved. How would the candidate use their systems to win football games? What strategies would they employ?
Here's where this gets complicated. While being employed by the Vikings, Flores is asking for potentially detailed materials that can give him an inside edge with proprietary information. That could create a conflict of interest, which is an obvious problem for any team playing the Vikings. It's one thing if teams don't have anything to say about the lawsuit while not being named in it, but now every team has a vested interest in where this goes.
If teams end up having to give materials to the Vikings, what will the league's response be? Could there be repercussions for Flores from the league? That in itself would open a can of worms in terms of retaliation, but never put anything past the NFL. Despite getting interviews for head coaching jobs over the last four years, this could end Flores' chances of getting a head coaching job elsewhere. That could be good for the Vikings, as Flores is a great defensive coordinator.
What's important to note is that this is a story that will continue to evolve. The NFL will fight this addition to the complaint, and that answer could take a long time to get. This latest aspect of the story is going to be one to keep tabs on, because a lot can change quickly.
Buckle up.
