Roger Goodell calls Brian Flores’ allegations ‘disturbing,’ responds to lawsuit
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called former Dolphins coach Brian Flores’ allegations in his class-action lawsuit “disturbing” Wednesday afternoon and said the league would take those claims “very seriously.”
“I found all of the allegations — whether they were based on racism or discrimination or the integrity of the game — all of those, to me, were very disturbing,” Goodell said in Los Angeles during his Super Bowl Week news conference. “They are very serious matters to us on all levels and we need to make sure we get to the bottom of all of them. Integrity of the game is obviously an important element, just as is making sure we have the right culture in our organizations across the league and clubs.
“But we are going to look into that. And we will make sure that if there were violations, that they won’t be tolerated. I couldn’t speculate on what they’ll be because we’ll have to find out what the facts are. What’s the outcome? And when we know what those facts are and the impact it has on our game, we’ll deal with it very seriously. Just as we will if there is any discrimination in the league, they will be dealt with very seriously.”
Goodell made his first public comments since Flores filed the suit last Tuesday, which includes the NFL, Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos. Flores accuses the league of racial discrimination in its hiring and firing process, as well as claims Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season.
Ross has denied those allegations and said he will cooperate with any investigation the league conducts, which Goodell confirmed Wednesday, days after sending a memo to NFL teams.
Goodell said his understanding is the league owners have the authority to remove an owner, which has been speculated as a possible punishment for Ross if Flores’ claims are found true.
Asked why the league issued a statement calling Flores’ allegations “without merit” shortly after the suit was filed, Goodell said that was in response to the legal claims and “not the experiences of what coach Flores was going through.” Goodell added he hoped to get feedback on the experiences of not only Flores but other minority coaches in the league.
After the Dolphins’ hiring of Mike McDaniel and the Houston Texans hiring Lovie Smith brought the number of minority head coaches in the NFL to five, Goodell said the league has “fell short ... by a long shot.”
“The single responsibility comes on all of us in the NFL,” he said. “We have to be the ones that make that change and we are the ones that have to make sure we bring diversity deeper into the NFL and make the NFL an inclusive and diverse organization that allows everyone the opportunity to be successful.
With only two owners of color in the NFL, Goodell said he has been “personally involved” in attempting to bring diverse ownership to the NFL. Media mogul Byron Allen is reportedly interested in placing a bid for the Broncos and if successful, he would become the league’s first Black owner.
“We have worked hard to make sure we have as many candidates possible and put them in a position to succeed,” Goodell said.
Goodell said he wouldn’t rule out anything to fix the league’s track record with hiring practices, including an overhaul of the Rooney Rule, which mandates teams interview minorities for head-coaching, coordinator and senior-level openings.
“We’re not going to rest until we find that,” Goodell said, “and we get those kind of outcomes that I think are mandatory for us. They just have to be the way we move forward to have an inclusive league.”
