Bryan Flores lawsuit

[SirClintonPortis]

Rooneys are also best friends with Maras.

This is basically the PR version of "good cop, bad cop". Mara's the bad cop, Rooney's the good cop, Flores is the undercover spy. He's probably coaching LBs because of Minkah.

This suit is dead after the discovery process because it won't meet the standards of class action certification.

 

[Om]

You can see it coming … in a couple years Flores will throw his hat in the ring for a HC opening, and it will be ON again. You can’t NOT interview him, and when you do, if you DON’T hire him that decision will be hyper-analyzed and crushed by a whole lot of loud voices.

Or, maybe the Rooneys figure they’ve got Tomlin‘s eventual replacement in the house.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

You can see it coming … in a couple years Flores will throw his hat in the ring for a HC opening, and it will be ON again. You can’t NOT interview him, and when you do, if you DON’T hire him that decision will be hyper-analyzed and crushed by a whole lot of loud voices.

Or, maybe the Rooneys figure they’ve got Tomlin‘s eventual replacement in the house.

In a couple years, the lawsuit will be long dismissed--The section 1981 violation part will be killed off rather quickly for failing to meet the "but-for" standard while the Title VII violation may be dead after discovery-and at least a couple of the "changes" proposed in the suit will be implemented. However, I expect him to still get hired unless his alleged toxic personality continues to manifest itself and alienate players.

The reforms seems quite "visionary" and well thought-out for something that was prepared in great haste(6 days or less). Leaves me wondering if Mara leaked those exact things to Flores.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

SCOTUS Sets High Bar For Those Bringing Race Discrimination Cases

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court last week ensured that a high standard will be used when assessing whether claims of race discrimination under Section 1981 should advance past the…

www.fisherphillips.com

Supreme Court Requires But-For Causation for Section 1981 Claims

On March 23, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Comcast Corp. v. National Association of African-American Owned Media, ruled that a plaintiff who alleges race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 must plead and has the ultimate burden of showing that race was a but-for cause of...

ogletree.com

 

[SirClintonPortis]

The diversity committee in 2018 and 2021 had both Rooney and Mara on it.

These recommendations were made in consultation with the Fritz Pollard Alliance, and they were presented to ownership by the league's Workplace Diversity Committee. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II chairs that committee, which also seats John Mara (Giants), Kim Pegula (Bills), George McCaskey (Bears), Arthur Blank (Falcons), Javier Loya (Texans minority owner) and Michael Bidwill (Cardinals).

2022 NFL free agency: One free agent that each team needs to retain this offseason

Chris Godwin and Odell Beckham Jr. are among the big names on the list

www.cbssports.com

The NFL's Workplace Diversity Committee is comprised of owners and executive personnel to include: Chair, Katie Blackburn (Cincinnati Bengals); Michael Bidwill (Arizona Cardinals); Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons); E. Javier Loya (Houston Texans); John Mara (New York Giants); George H. McCaskey (Chicago Bears); Art Rooney II (Pittsburgh Steelers); and Kevin Warren (Minnesota Vikings).

NFL EXPANDS ROONEY RULE REQUIREMENTS TO STRENGTHEN DIVERSITY

nflcommunications.com

Now, I haven't read every article or listened to every segment of TV "news, but I somehow have to yet come across anything states John Mara should be kicked off the diversity committee. If supposedly the Giants were the real big bad doing a real deal sham interview, such a fact would be front and center to show the hypocrisy of the NFL. But...not a peep. No takes stating John Mara can't be on the committee because he's racist.

Also, in the NFL communications link:

The enhancements to strengthen the Rooney Rule include:

1. Clubs must interview at least one diverse candidate from the Career Development Advisory Panel list or a diverse candidate not currently employed by the club;

1. Clubs must continue best practice recommendation of considering multiple diverse candidates;

1. Clubs must maintain complete records and furnish to the league upon Commissioner's request; and

1. If final decision-maker is involved in the beginning, he/she must be involved through the conclusion of the process.

That leaves me wondering if this "suit" was actually an internal "test" of sorts initiated by the members of the diversity committee to see if a particular team really had kept the records. That team being the Broncos as Elway and co. might not be in the circle of friendship Rooney, Mara, Kraft, BB etc are in. The Broncos apparently did do enough to be ready.

Now as for Miami, could it be that Kraft and Pegula wanted to basically bully them a little with an embarrassing allegation?


Some of the "injunctive relief" Flores wants seems to parroting the diversity committee or simply making specific what "complete records" are.

There is a Bill Walsh minority coaching Fellowship already extant. https://nflcommunications.com/Pages...ts-Record-134-Training-Camp-Participants.aspx
And very interestingly....the likes of Marvin Lewis, Mike Tomlin, and Lovie Smith all benefitted from it. So if an injunctive order were put down...the existing program would be expanded if that happened.

It's hard to believe Flores thought all these demands out this out in less than a week, especially since one of the days was consumed doing the "interview" with the Giants. Plus, these things seem like something that's already internally discussed and now "leaked" via the lawsuit to the public. Very well could be a power play by the likes of Rooney, Mara, and Smith.

 

[Om]

Thanks for staying on/digging into the possibilities here, brother. Following along with interest.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Flores went on ESPN yesterday. He brought up that he did not sign a non-disparagement agreement and alleges he left millions on the table.

Flores: Nixed Fins' separation deal to speak out

Brian Flores told HBO's "Real Sports" that he declined to sign a separation agreement presented by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross so he could speak out about his treatment in Miami.

www.espn.com

To me, this information seems to be once again intended for the court of public opinion. The allegation could be a PR matter for Miami, but while embarrassing, would not be racist or discriminatory if white coaches also have to sign such an agreement, imo. If this is just standard operating procedure for everyone coaching, it would require a creative argument to call it racism, imo.

Even if a person did sign an agreement, a violation alone still requires the company to then respond and enforce it. What penalty a violation incurs is would be important information to disclose.

In fact, it would be more convincing and heroic-looking, imo, if Flores showed he signed it and is breaking it than saying what he actually did. This is because if he did sign it and then broke it, the Dolphins have to take action in order to enforce the violation. The Dolphins would have then had to bare it out in a court filing what penalty they what to inflict on Flores. Harvey Weinstein used actual NDAs(more than just a non-disparagement clause) but ultimately, the women talked anyway. Not without difficulty, but it lost its teeth.

Also:
https://www.themuse.com/advice/non-disparagement-clause-agreement-sample

There are exceptions that a non-disparagement agreement can’t supercede. An agreement can’t preclude someone from filing a workers’ compensation claim or receiving benefits for an injury or illness, Cheddie says. You also can't stop an employee from saying negative things to a government agency conducting an investigation, Elkins adds. For example, if the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is examining a discrimination claim, or if an organization like the FDA or the EPA is looking into your company’s practices, you’re allowed to speak freely to that agency.

Flores will file all of his allegations with EEOC to start the process of filing the suit for a Title VII violation.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Vincent makes note of the dozens of people who have pushed for diversity in the 17 years since the Rooney Rule was adopted. From Paul Tagliabue, then the NFL’s commissioner, and Steelers owner Dan Rooney, for whom the rule is named, to other team owners such as Atlanta’s Arthur Blank, Philadelphia’s Jeffrey Lurie, Denver’s Pat Bowlen, the Rams’ Stan Kroenke, and such Hall of Fame members as Paul Brown, Wellington Mara, Al Davis and Lamar Hunt who were open to diversity throughout their tenures.

He praises folks behind the scenes: league counsel Jeff Pash; attorney Cyrus Mehri, one of the developers of the Rooney Rule; Fritz Pollard Alliance executive director Rod Graves; team executives past and present such as Newsome, Bill Polian, Rich McKay, Katie Blackburn and Amy Trask; Black coaches Tyrone Willingham, David Shaw and Denny Green, whom Vincent calls, along with Walsh, “pillars” in the fight for opportunity.

NFL develops 7-point mobility plan for diversity hiring

When the Rooney Rule was adopted by the NFL in 2003, Troy Vincent was in his 12th of 15 seasons as an outstanding defensive back.

apnews.com

The article is titled "NFL develops 7-point mobility plan for diversity hiring"


It's kind of hard to believe that a family that's been on the side of pushing diversity suddenly went full wide open communication with BB and brazenly making it appear they zeroed in on Daboll and leave Flores hanging....

Flores seems very tight within a particular clique. The Rooney-Mara-Kraft clique. Back when the Giants faced the Pats in the 2007 Super Bowl, Judy Bauttista wrote a long feature about the connections, how the young Kraft was a fan of the Giants, ...etc.

So, the Mara-run Giants were forward and open about who they were going to hire to Bill Belichick, former coordinator and current coach of the Pats. Belichick "mistakenly" texts Flores, they still have each other's contact info on their phones. Flores in less than 6 days time, finds two lawyers, still had to do the interview, and the lawyers having loads of free time, and hammers out a 58-page class action suit.

Who knows, the embarrassment of the Dolphins in tihe press could be some gamesmanship from the Bills and Pats part of the clique. Pegula is on the diversity committee and BB is tight with the Giants still.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Given that doxxing and "cancelling" is quite common these days, Mara not being called out in print or on air for being a member of the diversity committee is an odd thing to keep silent about.