On May 26, the U.S. Supreme Court opted not to take up an appeal from the National Football League and three franchises seeking to force a high-profile discrimination dispute into arbitration. The move by the justices leaves in place rulings from lower federal courts that require at least some of the claims brought by Brian Flores to be litigated in federal court instead of through a league-controlled arbitration process.
Flores, 45, who is the former head coach of the Miami Dolphins and is presently a defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings, filed a lawsuit in 2022 accusing the NFL and multiple teams of systematic discrimination against Black coaching and management candidates. The league and three teams - the New York Giants, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans - had argued the claims should be resolved via arbitration under the NFL constitution, a provision that gives the league and its commissioner significant authority over dispute resolution.
By declining the appeal, the Supreme Court left undisturbed a chain of prior rulings. A New York federal judge in 2023 had concluded that the NFL and the three teams named must face Flores' claims in federal court, while sending other elements of the dispute to private arbitration. Those mixed determinations left room for further appellate review, which the NFL and the teams pursued.
On appeal, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting in New York, reached a related conclusion in 2025. The 2nd Circuit held that certain claims properly belong in federal court and characterized a provision in the NFL constitution that would grant Commissioner Roger Goodell unilateral authority over arbitration as "plainly unenforceable." The appeals court reasoned that an arbitration agreement that "compels one party to submit its disputes to the substantive and procedural authority of the principal executive officer of one of their adverse parties, is an agreement for arbitration in name only," writing for the panel Judge Jose Cabranes.
Flores' suit alleges that the league and several individual teams engaged in discriminatory practices in hiring and firing for coaching and management posts, in violation of federal and state law. According to the complaint, Flores was dismissed from his post as Miami's head coach despite securing winning records across two consecutive seasons. He also alleges that, over the course of his career, he was asked to participate in what he describes as "sham interviews" with the Giants and Broncos, interviews he says were conducted only to satisfy a 2003 league policy known as the Rooney Rule.
The Rooney Rule, adopted by the NFL in 2003 and referenced in Flores' filings, requires that minority candidates be interviewed for open coaching positions. Flores argues in the lawsuit that the rule has not prevented discriminatory outcomes and that the league and some teams continued to exclude Black candidates from meaningful consideration.
Two additional former NFL coaches, Steve Wilks, who previously led the Arizona Cardinals, and Ray Horton, a longtime NFL assistant, later joined Flores as plaintiffs. The combined suit seeks a range of remedies, including orders to force structural changes in hiring practices, incentives for teams to hire Black coaches and general managers, and requirements that teams provide written explanations for hiring and termination decisions.
The NFL has denied allegations of racial discrimination and sought either dismissal of the lawsuit as legally deficient or, alternatively, its referral to arbitration. Following the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case, Flores' attorney David Gottlieb issued a statement welcoming the outcome and saying, "The NFL must now accept that its commissioner cannot be the arbitrator over discrimination claims against the league and its teams. We look forward to litigating these claims in court."
An NFL spokesperson, Brian McCarthy, said the league respects the court's decision and added, "Regardless of the forum, we are fully prepared to defend ourselves as this matter proceeds." With the high court's refusal to intervene, the procedural posture established by the lower courts remains intact and the federal litigation of Flores' core claims is set to continue.
Summary of procedural posture
- A 2023 New York federal judge ruled key claims must be litigated in federal court while sending other aspects to private arbitration.
- The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2025 affirmed that some claims belong in federal court and found that a provision giving Commissioner Goodell unilateral arbitration power was "plainly unenforceable."
- The Supreme Court's May 26 decision to decline review leaves the lower-court rulings intact and clears the way for continued federal-court proceedings.
Legal stakes and requested remedies
The lawsuit seeks to compel the NFL to implement changes designed to increase minority hiring at senior coaching and managerial levels, to create incentives for teams to hire Black coaches and general managers, and to require written explanations for hiring and firing decisions. Plaintiffs contend those forms of relief are necessary to address what they characterize as systematic discrimination; the league contests those claims and has pressed alternative dispute procedures in response.