Brian Flores is back in the NFL, joining the Steelers as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach. But the former Dolphins head coach isn’t finished in his fight against alleged mistreatment in Miami, telling HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” on Tuesday that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him a non-disparagement agreement upon his dismissal, which would’ve prevented him from saying anything negative about the club. The Dolphins have since disputed the claim, calling Flores’ allegations “false and defamatory,” and just the latest in a “pattern of … unfounded statements.”
Flores, who filed a class-action lawsuit against the Dolphins, NFL and two other teams alleging racial discrimination, told Bryant Gumbel he declined the separation agreement, which “would have really silenced me.” Flores’ attorney John Elefterakis added that the ex-Dolphins coach could’ve made millions through the deal, which ran for two years. His other attorney, Doug Wigdor, argued that Ross offered the agreement to keep alleged issues — like Ross allegedly offering Flores $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season in order to better the Dolphins’ draft pick — under wraps.
“If it was about the money he would have signed it,” Wigdor said of Flores’ decision to decline the alleged offer, per ESPN. “What he did instead was he filed this lawsuit so that he could help other coaches. … If a coach is terminated with a couple years or a year left on their contract, they don’t get paid unless they sign a waiver, an NDA, confidentiality and non-disparagement. So they buy their silence.”
The Dolphins, through a statement, have addressed the claims as outright lies.
“This latest assertion by Brian Flores that Steve Ross mentioned an NDA to him is categorically false,” the statement read. “This just did not happen and we simply cannot understand why Brian continues this pattern of making unfounded statements that he knows are untrue. We are fully cooperating with the NFL investigation and look forward to all of the facts coming out, which we are confident will prove that his claims are false and defamatory.”
The NFL is currently investigating Flores’ claims surrounding Ross and the Dolphins.
