Brian Flores' lawsuit against NFL allowed to proceed in court, judge says

A federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that Brian Flores' lawsuit against the NFL and several of its teams can proceed in federal court, though some of the suit's claims must be handled in a confidential arbitration process.

The ruling, handed down by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan, will allow Flores to continue to litigate his claims of systemic discrimination against the NFL and three of its teams: the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and New York Giants.

However, Flores' claim against the Miami Dolphins – and similar claims made by co-plaintiffs Ray Horton and Steve Wilks against their former teams – must instead be resolved behind closed doors in arbitration. Under league rules, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would either serve as the arbitrator or appoint one.

"We are pleased that Coach Flores’ class claims of systematic discrimination against the NFL and several teams will proceed in court and ultimately before a jury of his peers," Flores' attorney, Douglas Wigdor, said in a statement.

"We are disappointed the court compelled arbitration of any claims before Mr. Goodell as he is obviously biased and unqualified to rule on these matters. We expect him to delegate those matters to a truly neutral arbitrator as a matter of fundamental fairness."

Wigdor added that he and his clients "look forward to pursuing all these claims to trial in their various forums."

Meanwhile, the NFL also hailed parts of the ruling, noting that Caproni found "the vast majority of claims in this case are properly arbitrable by the Commissioner."

"We intend to move forward promptly with arbitrations as directed by the Court and to seek to dismiss the remaining claims," the league said in a statement provided by spokesperson Brian McCarthy.

Flores first filed suit against the NFL and several of its teams last year, alleging "systemic racial discrimination in the hiring, retention and termination of NFL coaches and executives." He specifically accused the Broncos and Giants of bringing him in for "sham" interviews, and the Dolphins and Texans of retaliating against him.

Wednesday's new brings a resolution to the first major fight in the case – whether Flores' claims should be moved behind closed doors.

The NFL had argued that, under the terms of their coaching contracts with the league's teams, Flores, Horton and Wilks should be required to arbitrate their claims – taking them out of the federal court system and into a confidential process. Flores' team countered that the claims did not fall under those arbitration provisions and that the arbitrator in this case – Goodell, or his designee – would have "unconscionable bias."

Caproni effectively took the issues one-by-one. She reasoned that Flores' claim against the Dolphins, Horton's claim against the Tennessee Titans and Wilks' claim against the Arizona Cardinals belonged in arbitration because the coaches were employed by those teams – and bound by the terms of their contracts – at the time.

Because Flores' claims against Denver, New York and Houston revolve around interviews and interactions he had with those teams when unemployed or with another team, Caproni added, they are eligible to remain in court.

"This case shines an unflattering spotlight on the employment practices of National Football League teams," Caproni wrote in her order. "Although the clear majority of professional football players are Black, only a tiny percentage of coaches are Black."

The NFL has historically fought to handle disputes like Flores' in arbitration, in part because the private process can help keep its business out of the public eye. The league has taken similar steps in response to a separate lawsuit filed by former coach Jon Gruden in 2021.

Instead, Wednesday's ruling ensures that the Flores case will remain public – and possibly even go to trial. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for March 24.

Since filing the lawsuit last year, Flores has been hired as a senior defensive assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and as defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. Wilks, meanwhile, accepted a defensive coordinator job with the San Francisco 49ers last month, and Horton is now the head coach of the USFL's Pittsburgh Maulers. He last coached in the NFL in 2019.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brian Flores' lawsuit vs. NFL allowed to proceed in court, judge says