Story perspectives

Supreme Court Lets Brian Flores Discrimination Case Proceed

5/26/2026

Summary

Flores Goes to Trial

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the NFL’s appeal, letting Brian Flores’s discrimination suit go to open court.
Flores sued the NFL and three clubs—the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and an unnamed third team—in 2022.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented, saying he would have taken the case.
Flores’s lawyer Douglas Wigdor argued employers cannot force arbitration before the commissioner.

Summary

Flores Expands Lawsuit

Two Black coaches joined Brian Flores’s racial-discrimination lawsuit, expanding the challenge to NFL hiring practices.
Flores says the Houston Texans halted his head-coach candidacy as retaliation for filing the suit.
The Congressional Black Caucus cited the Supreme Court’s refusal to review the case as evidence of legitimacy concerns after Louisiana map ruling.
President Donald Trump used the Court’s inaction on the NFL case to urge Republican governors to redraw maps.

Summary

Flores Challenges NFL

The 2nd Circuit ruled NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s arbitration authority unenforceable, saying it forces party to submit disputes to executive, a party.
Flores’s suit seeks NFL hiring incentives for Black coaches and GMs and requires reasons for coaching hires and firings.
Flores alleges the Giants and Broncos gave him sham interviews to satisfy the 2003 Rooney Rule.
A 2023 judge kept the claims in court and sent them to arbitration.

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Flores Goes to Trial

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the NFL’s appeal, letting Brian Flores’s discrimination suit go to open court.
Flores sued the NFL and three clubs—the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and an unnamed third team—in 2022.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented, saying he would have taken the case.
Flores’s lawyer Douglas Wigdor argued employers cannot force arbitration before the commissioner.

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