‘BIGGER THAN FOOTBALL’

Flores Recounts ‘Humiliation, Disbelief’ After Bombshell Belichick Texts

The former coach spoke to CBS Mornings after filing an explosive racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL.

After filling a class-action lawsuit alleging pervasive racial discrimination in the NFL, former head coach Brian Flores has told CBS Mornings that he was left feeling demeaned and humiliated by the league. “It’s hard to speak out… but this is bigger than football. This is bigger than coaching,” he said. Last week, while awaiting an interview for the New York Giants head coach, Flores got a text from New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick preemptively congratulating him. Belichick meant to text another candidate, Brian Daboll, who is white and had already been hired. “It was a range of emotions. Humiliation, disbelief, anger,” Flores said. In his lawsuit, Flores alleged that the NFL disingenuously pursued diversity, giving diverse candidates “sham interviews” just to meet diversity quotas. The NFL has just three coaches of color, one of whom is Black. In contrast, 70 percent of players are Black.