Two black coaches joined Pittsburgh Steelers senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach Brian Flores’s lawsuit against the NFL for alleged racial discrimination in its hiring practices.
Steve Wilks and Ray Horton joined the case, seeking damages from the NFL, demanding changes within the league, and arguing they experienced discrimination when vying for top coaching positions.
EX-DOLPHINS COACH BRIAN FLORES SUES NFL AND THREE TEAMS FOR RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
“When Coach Flores filed this action, I knew I owed it to myself, and to all black NFL coaches and aspiring coaches, to stand with him,” Wilks said. “Black coaches and candidates should have exactly the same ability to become employed, and remain employed, as white coaches and candidates. That is not currently the case.”
A law firm representing Flores filed an amended complaint Thursday. The amended complaint is 100 pages long and adds Wilks and Horton as plaintiffs, as well as the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, and the Tennessee Titans as defendants, per ESPN.
Flores filed the lawsuit against the NFL in February after New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick mistakenly congratulated him for becoming head coach of the New York Giants three days before he even interviewed for the position. Belichick had texted the wrong Brian — Brian Daboll was awarded the slot.
His lawsuit alleged discrimination and decried being given a “sham” interview because the team knew it was going with Daboll. About 20 years ago, the NFL imposed the “Rooney Rule,” which requires teams to consider at least one black candidate for head coach vacancies. Flores claims the “sham” interview was given to him to comply with the “Rooney Rule.” The lawsuit also targets the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and 26 other “John Doe” NFL teams.
When Flores first filed the lawsuit, the NFL released a statement stressing that “diversity is core” to the league and said his claims are “without merit.” Similarly, the New York Giants released a statement dismissing Flores’s allegations and maintaining it hired the “most qualified to be our next head coach.”
On Thursday, the Texans, which considered Flores for head coach, released a statement amid news of the amended complaint defending its actions.
“Flores was among the first candidates we held a formal interview with for the position, and he remained a candidate until the very end. We have a lot of respect for Brian both personally and professionally,” the team said in a statement. “It was a very fluid process that allowed us to spend time with a number of quality candidates. We are proud of our decision and will vigorously defend our process.”
Wilks is currently serving as the defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach for the Carolina Panthers. In the complaint, he alleged that in 2018, the Arizona Cardinals discriminated against him and hired him as a “bridge coach,” not giving him the opportunity to succeed.
He was fired after one season and was replaced with a white coach. His general manager, who was white, was given a contract extension despite “poor personnel decisions” and an off-season DUI conviction, he stated.
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Horton has since retired from the league but claims he was given a “sham” interview for the Tennessee Titans head coach position in January 2016 — similar to the allegation Flores has made against the New York Giants. The position went to Mike Mularkey, who subsequently told a podcast host that the Titans told him he “was going to be the head coach in 2016, before they went through the Rooney Rule,” per the complaint.
“I am proud to stand with Coach Flores and Coach Wilks in combating the systemic discrimination which has plagued the NFL for far too long. When I learned from Coach Mularkey’s statements that my head coach interview with the Titans was a sham, I was devastated and humiliated,” he explained. “By joining this case, I am hoping to turn that experience into a positive and make lasting change and create true equal opportunity in the future.”
