Ross, responds to Flores’ lawsuit
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross responded Wednesday night to allegations made by Brian Flores in a lawsuit announced a day earlier, describing them as “false, malicious and defamatory,” and vowing to defend his “personal integrity” as well as that of his organization.
On Tuesday, Flores filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against the NFL and three teams–the Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos–alleging racial discrimination in hiring practices.
As part of the lawsuit, Flores alleges Ross offered him $100,000 per loss during the 2019 campaign–his first as head coach–in a losing effort to bolster the value of the Dolphins’ draft pick.
Miami fired Flores last month after three seasons with the club, including back-to-back winning campaigns in 2020 and 2021. Ross said at the time that the decision had to do with “collaboration” issues within the organization, but Flores maintains that his firing had to do with his refusal to lose on purpose in 2019.
Ross responded pubically to the allegations in the lawsuit for the first time Wednesday night.
“With respect to the allegations made by Brian Flores, I am a man of honor and integrity, and I cannot let them stand unanswered,” he said in a statement provided to multiple media outlets. “I take very personal exception to these malicious attacks, and the truth must be known. Their allegations are false, malicious and defamatory. We understand there are media reports that the NFL intends to investigate your claims, and we will cooperate fully. I look forward to that investigation and am eager to defend my personal integrity, and the integrity and values of the entire Miami Dolphins organization, from these baseless, unfair, and disqualifying claims.”
The NFL issued a statement after the lawsuit was released, noting in part that Flores’ allegations “lacked merit.” However, a league source told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on Wednesday that that comment only addressed allegations of discrimination surrounding hiring practices. The source said he will investigate allegations that Ross offered Flores money to forfeit games.
“That was a conversation about not doing as much as we needed to do to win soccer games,” Flores revealed in the interview “‘Take a flight, go on vacation. I’ll give you $100,000 per loss.’ Those were his exact words. Look, I deal with the truth. I tell the players, too. ‘Look, I’ll give you good news or bad news, but it will be the truth, it will be honest.’
“So, missing the rest of the game like that was something that…. Trust was lost, and there was stress about some relationships, and in the end I think that led to my end in Miami.”
