A US district court gave this decision on Friday minnesota vikings Defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ ongoing discrimination case against the NFL could move forward in open court.
Last year, Flores’ lawyers, along with fellow coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, asked for reconsideration of a court order that transferred some of his lawsuits against the NFL and several teams to the league’s arbitration process.
He had argued that the 2023 order should be reconsidered based on the August 2025 award, which found serious flaws in the league’s arbitration process.
Friday’s ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York means all claims can be settled at trial.
“The court’s decision recognizes that an arbitration forum in which the defendants’ own chief executive gets a chance to decide the case would strip employees of their rights under the law,” Coach lawyers Douglas H. Vigdor and David E. Gottlieb said in a statement. “It has taken far too long for the NFL to recognize this and finally provide a fair, neutral and transparent forum to address these issues.”
Flores sued the NFL and three teams denver broncos, New York Giants And houston texans –after he was fired in January 2022 miami dolphins He was in the process of being interviewed as head coach and for other jobs. His original claim accused the league of being “rife with racism”, particularly in the hiring and promotion of black coaches.
Wilks claims against Arizona Cardinals And against Horton tennessee titans.
Information from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert was used in this report.
