Brian Flores caused a stir more than a year ago with his serious allegations against the NFL and some teams. Now the first verdict is in and it’s clear what’s next in the process

Thirteen months have passed since former Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed racial discrimination charges against his ex-employer, the NFL and other teams.

Now there is movement in the matter. In a 30-page ruling, Judge Valerie Caproni, who is responsible for the matter, has determined that part of the claims will be settled through the NFL’s internal arbitration process and another part will be settled in court.

Thus, the jurist referred Flores’ claim against the Miami Dolphins based on his contract with the team to NFL arbitration. However, Flores will be allowed to pursue his allegations against the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and New York Giants and his “related claims against the NFL” in court.

Because Flores was not employed by those teams, he is not required to arbitrate his claims against the franchises.

Both parties may appeal

The claims by his co-accused Steve Wilks (against the Arizona Cardinals) and Ray Horton (against the Tennessee Titans) must also go to arbitration.

However, all parties can now appeal the judge’s decision.

Tentatively, Caproni has set a pre-trial conference for March 24, at which time dates and deadlines will be set for the litigation.

NFL pleased with arbitration proceedings

In a statement from the NFL obtained by “Pro Football Talk,” the best football league in the world indicates it probably won’t appeal. “Diversity and inclusion across the NFL make us a better organisation,” spokesman Brian McCarthy said.

“We recognise that there is much work to be done, and we are committed to doing so. Nevertheless, we are pleased with the court’s decision, which rightly finds that the vast majority of claims in this case can be properly arbitrated by the Commissioner under binding agreements signed by all plaintiffs. We intend to move forward expeditiously with the court-ordered arbitration and will seek to dismiss the remaining claims.”

So the NFL will seek to have Flores’ lawsuits against the Broncos, Giants and Texans dismissed. If that succeeds, they will be dismissed – otherwise they will go to trial.

Flores and lawyer partially disappointed

Meanwhile, Brian Flores’ lawyer also commented on the judge’s decision. “We are pleased that Coach Flores’ class action lawsuits for systematic discrimination against the NFL and multiple teams will be tried in court and ultimately before a jury,” Doug Wigdor said.

He added: “We are disappointed that the court has forced arbitration before Mr Goodell as he is clearly biased and unqualified to rule on these matters. We expect him to delegate these matters to a truly neutral arbitrator as a matter of fundamental fairness.”

Brian Flores, who has since joined the Minnesota Vikings as defensive coordinator, had caused quite a stir with a variety of allegations more than a year ago. Among other things, he accused the owner of his former team, the Miami Dolphins, of offering him 100,000 US dollars for each failure shortly after he was hired, in order to look as bad as possible at the end of the season and to get the highest possible draft pick – keyword tanking.

The 42-year-old also accuses the NFL of “systematic racism” and the New York Giants of “sham interviews”, among other things.