Brian Flores' discrimination lawsuit against NFL can proceed in open court, SDNY rules

Peter Sblendorio and Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News on Feb 13, 2026

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — All of the claims in Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams, including the Giants, can proceed in court, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled Friday.

In a 14-page order, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Valerie Caproni ruled that Flores and other coaches suing the NFL can pursue their claims before her instead of the closed-door arbitration process sought by the league.

Caproni had previously sent certain claims made by Flores and fellow coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton to arbitration, but the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that order in August.

The appellate court found that the NFL had failed to provide a neutral forum that could fairly be described as “arbitration,” and that Flores could not effectively vindicate his rights given the designation of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as the default arbitrator.

Denying the NFL’s motion to compel arbitration in full, Caproni on Friday rejected the league’s insistence that procedural safeguards installed after the appeals court ruling warranted a different outcome, finding the guidelines’ role “muddled at best” and not a fix for the forum’s lack of independence.

“This case, even as it has progressed very little, illustrates the failures of the NFL to provide a process that constitutes ‘arbitration’ as that term is used by the [the Federal Arbitration Act],” the judge wrote.

“The NFL’s unilateral control over the dispute resolution process is the fatal flaw.”

Lawyers for the NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, the coaches’ attorneys welcomed the ruling.

“The court’s decision recognizes that an arbitration forum in which the defendant’s own chief executive gets to decide the case would strip employees of their rights under the law,” attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and David E. Gottlieb said.

“It is long overdue for the NFL to recognize this and finally provide a fair, neutral and transparent forum for these issues to be addressed.”

Flores, who is Black, sued the NFL, Giants, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans in early 2022, claiming the league was “rife with racism” as he interviewed for head coaching jobs after he was fired by the Miami Dolphins.

The Brooklyn-born Flores alleged those teams spoke to him only to satisfy the NFL’s “Rooney Rule,” which requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates before filling certain positions.

During that cycle, the Giants hired Brian Daboll as head coach. They denied the accusation made by Flores, who has been the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator since 2023.

Wilks, whose allegations are against the Arizona Cardinals, and Horton, whose claims are against the Tennessee Titans, joined Flores’ lawsuit in April 2022.

Earlier this month, Goodell voiced support for the Rooney Rule but said the NFL must continue to evaluate everything. Those comments came after only one of the NFL’s 10 head coach openings went to a minority coach — the Titans’ Robert Saleh — this offseason.

“I think we have become a more diverse league across every platform, including coaching, but we still have more work to do,” Goodell said at a press conference ahead of the Super Bowl.

“There’s got to be more steps. We’re reevaluating everything we’re doing, including our accelerator program and including every aspect of our policies in our programs to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow rather than yesterday. We need to be looking at that and say, ‘OK, why did we have [those] results this year?’ ”