A federal appeals court maintained Thursday that Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is permitted to take his discrimination cases against the NFL, Giants, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans to an open federal court in front of a jury.
A March 2023 decision by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni that denied the NFL’s attempt to compel Flores’ civil claims to be arbitrated under league commissioner Roger Goodell’s supervision was affirmed by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The NFL constitution’s arbitration clause technically forbids an independent arbitral venue, bilateral dispute settlement, or a procedure, according to the ruling authored by Circuit Judge Jose A. Cabranes.
According to the appeals court, it violates fundamental principles of our arbitration jurisprudence by requiring the NFL’s chief executive officer to decide claims.
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the Second Circuit’s ruling, according to attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor, David E. Gottlieb, and John Elefterakis.
According to the lawyers, the NFL has been using an unfair and essentially biased arbitration procedure for far too long, even when there are significant allegations of prejudice. This decision makes it quite evident that the practice must stop. This is a win for all workers nationwide, not just NFL workers, and for anybody who values openness, responsibility, and justice.
“We respectfully disagree with the panel’s ruling and will be seeking further review,” stated NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy.
In court, the NFL is having a difficult week. The NFL’s attempt to have former coach Jon Gruden’s claims against the league and Roger Goodell forced into arbitration was just rejected by the Nevada Supreme Court.
In February 2022, Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and a number of teams, claiming that racism was rampant in the league, especially in the employment and advancement of Black coaches. Later, two more coaches joined the case, which aimed to advance as a class action. However, Caproni decided that their claims may be arbitrated because of the terms of their contracts with teams.
Regarding the Giants specifically, Flores’ lawsuit claims that before Brian Daboll was named head coach, the Giants conducted a phony interview with him for their head coaching position in January 2022.
Two days prior to his Giants interview, Flores claims that he received a text message from then-Patriotics head coach Bill Belichick that was actually meant for Daboll. It said, “I hear from Buffalo and NYG that you are their guy.”
At the NFL owners’ meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, in March 2022, Giants co-owner John Mara declared the accusations to be untrue.
In 2022, Mara stated, “We end up making the decision we made based on a lot of factors, none of which had to do with race. We’re very comfortable with our hiring process, and it was a fair process.”
Mara added that neither he nor anyone else from the Giants had discussed the hiring procedure with Belichick.
Since we faced them in the preseason last summer, Mara stated in 2022, I haven’t spoken or spoken with Bill, and as far as I know, no one in our organization has done so.
The current general counsel and senior vice president of the Giants is Rich Hernandez, Esq. In March 2023, he was elevated to succeed former General Counsel William Heller.
