(Bloomberg) -- Brian Flores said he's “hopeful” that he will coach for the National Football League again, but that he understands the risk that he may not.
The 40-year-old former Miami Dolphins head coach filed an explosive lawsuit Tuesday alleging racial discrimination in the NFL's hiring practices. He said that many Black people in the league feel like interviews for head coaching positions are “shams.” Under the “Rooney Rule,” NFL owners must consider minority candidates when they are hiring for head coaching positions.
“If I never coach again and there's change, it'll be worth it,” Flores said Wednesday on ESPN. Flores said the change needed to come from NFL owners. There is currently only one Black head coach among the 32 teams.
The NFL said the case is “without merit” and “diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time.”
There are still two open head coaching positions with the league, one in New Orleans and one in Houston. “I'm hopeful that I will” coach for the NFL again, Flores said. “But I understand the risks of filing a lawsuit like this.”
Doug Wigdor, one of Flores's attorneys, called his client “the Rosa Parks of the NFL.”
There may be a more apt comparison.
“Just look at Colin Kaepernick, who has never played again after he sued the NFL for collusion – and later settled,” said Nicole Haff, litigation partner of NYC-based Romano Law. But she said Flores raised a powerful case.
“The fact is there is currently only one Black head coach in the league and plenty of highly qualified coordinators,” she said. “This fact does not bode well for the league and the clubs named in this suit.”
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