Brian Flores Alleges Dolphins Offered Him Money To Lose Games

Former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores sent shockwaves through the NFL when he filed a class-action lawsuit against the league and all 32 of its teams. Flores is alleging racial discrimination within the NFL's hiring process for coaching personnel, specifically naming the Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos as offenders.

The lawsuit contains many disturbing details regarding race relations in the NFL but one of the more interesting allegations revolve around the former head coach being rewarded for losing games, alleging that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered a significant amount of money for every game that the Dolphins lost in an attempt to gain a better draft position:

The suit also alleges that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered Flores $100,000 for each of the team's losses in 2019, in hopes of improving Miami's draft position in 2020.

Many have praised Flores for speaking out, as the NFL currently has just one black head coach, despite the league being made up of 57.5% black men according to a study from 2020. Flores spoke out on the unfortunate reality that his allegations will likely scare teams away from signing him in the future, but that he felt a sense of duty:

"I understand that I may be risking coaching the game that I love and has done so much for my family and me. My sincere hope is that by standing against the systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”

Ross has since responded to the allegations: