Flores v. Nat'l Football League

OPINION AND ORDER This case shines an unflattering spotlight on the employment practices of National Football League (“NFL”) teams. Although the clear majority of professional football players are Black, only a tiny percentage of coaches are Black. In 2002, to much hoopla, the NFL announced that it was going to do something about the paucity of Black coaches.¹ Its solution was to adopt the so-called “Rooney Rule.” The Rooney Rule as originally adopted required any NFL team looking to hire a head coach to interview at least one minority candidate. The Amended Complaint in this case alleges that, however laudable the intent, the Rooney Rule has devolved into a cruel sham, with Black candidates being interviewed for positions that the team has already decided will be filled by a white candidate and with Black coaches being treated more harshly vis-à-vis employment decisions than similarly-situated white coaches. See Am. Compl., Dkt. 22. Three Black men who are current or former NFL coaches have sued the NFL and several member teams for racial discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. §1981, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York City Human Rights Law, and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. See Am. Compl. Defendants moved to compel arbitration and to stay the current proceedings, Mot. to Compel Arbitration, Dkt. 47, and Plaintiffs opposed the motion, Pls. Opp., Dkt. 62. For the reasons discussed below, the motion to compel arbitration is GRANTED except as to the Brian Flores’s claims against the New York Giants, the Houston Texans, the Denver Broncos, and his related claims against the NFL, as to which the motion is DENIED. BACKGROUND² The NFL is an unincorporated association of thirty-two professional football clubs. Defs. Mem., Dkt. 48 at 4. Although each club is a separate legal entity, the clubs are governed by a shared set of NFL rules and policies, including the NFL Constitution. See generally Second DiBella Decl. Ex. 1 (“NFL Const. & Bylaws”), Dkt. 73. The NFL is overseen by a Commissioner, currently Roger Goodell, who is appointed by member teams. See NFL Const. & Bylaws Art. VIII; Pls. Opp. at 3. A. Plaintiffs’ Allegations of Discrimination in the NFL Brian Flores, Steve Wilks, and Ray Horton are Black men who allege that they have each been discriminated against when employed or when seeking to be employed as coaches for NFL teams. Am. Compl. 1. Messrs. Flores and Horton allege that several NFL teams interviewed them for head coaching positions solely to fulfill the so-called “Rooney Rule” without any intent of hiring them.³ See id. at

185, 200-05, 271-73. 1. Brian Flores Mr. Flores alleges that he was a victim of racial discrimination on four distinct occasions. Mr. Flores first alleges that the Denver Broncos interviewed him in 2019 solely to satisfy the Rooney Rule without actually considering him for its head coach position. Id.