When Brian Flores filed his racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL earlier this month, he used text messages from his former boss Bill Belichick as a key piece of evidence.
During an interview with Brandon Marshall’s “I Am Athlete” podcast, which was posted on Monday, Flores made it clear he was “not mad” with Belichick and that he only shared his texts because they felt central to the purpose of his lawsuit.
“To me, I thought it was specific to the lawsuit in that it confirmed a lot of things that I thought were going on — that I think a lot of Black or minority coaches think are going on,” Flores said. “It kind of confirmed it for me as far as having a fair and equal opportunity to go and have an interview and show your acumen, show intelligence, show your ability to lead, show your willingness and your leadership. Oftentimes, it’s not a fair and equal playing field.”
In the texts Flores included, Belichick appears to congratulate him on getting the New York Giants’ head coaching job, only to say he meant to text another former assistant, Brian Daboll. Daboll was eventually hired for the role.
Flores is alleging that the Giants hosted him on a subsequent “sham” in-person interview to fulfill the Rooney Rule after they had already decided to hire Daboll.
After Flores’ lawsuit was filed, the Giants released a statement denying his claims and saying Belichick does not speak for the organization, nor did he provide any insight into their coaching search with his text messages to Flores.
“In addition, Mr. Belichick does not speak for and has no affiliation with the Giants,” the statement read in part. “Mr. Belichick’s text exchange provides no insight into what actually transpired during our head coaching search.”
Flores was eventually hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers over the weekend to be the team’s special defensive assistant and linebackers coach.
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