NFL Takes Brian Flore’s Discrimination Fight to the Supreme Court, Seeking to Block Jury Trial

A federal appeals court has ruled that former NFL coach Brian Flores can take his racial discrimination lawsuit against the National Football League and several of its teams to trial. The NFL has appealed the decision.

The NFL and the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and New York Giants have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling that would allow Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit to be heard in court.

On August 14, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan affirmed a lower court’s decision, allowing Flores’ claims to be heard in open court rather than being limited to arbitration. Contractual agreements name NFL Commissioner Robert Goodell as the default arbitrator, creating an imbalance and an unfair advantage for the defendants. The league argues that the case should be forced into arbitration, challenging a lower court’s ruling that Commissioner Roger Goodell’s role as arbitrator is unfair and unenforceable. The justices will decide whether to hear the appeal after Flores’ legal team responds, although the Supreme Court only accepts a small portion of such cases.

On January 9, the NFL and its co-defendants Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and New York Giants claim the original terms of the contract, which requires arbitration, must be upheld and thus appeal the decision.

In “New York Football Giants, Inc., Et Al., Petitioners v. Brian Flores,” the NFL claims that “the Arbitration Act protects litigants and provides a path to resolution “without judicial obstruction or interference.” The decision to rule against arbitration is a “subjective determination” and if upheld, it will set a judicial precedent that “unnecessarily complicates the law.”

The initial decision addresses these claims and states that provisions of the NFL Constitution that would have required arbitration were unenforceable under them Federal Arbitration Act because they did not provide an independent or neutral ruling.

The appellate court’s opinion stated that arbitration processes that give an interested party unilateral control do not meet the standards required for arbitration under federal law. The original decision rejects the NFL’s argument that all aspects of Flores’ claims should be the same resolved through internal competition arbitration procedures.

Flores, who was previously head coach of the Miami Dolphins and is currently defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, argued that discriminatory practices in NFL hiring have denied him and other black coaches equal opportunities. Flores’ lawsuit expanded into a putative class action, with other coaches joining over time.

Flores’ claims date back to a 2022 lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He claims the league and several franchises engage in discriminatory hiring practices that disadvantage black coaches. The lawsuit targets the NFL, the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Houston Texans, among others, and alleges that Flores and other black coaches faced bias in job interviews and employment decisions. The hill reported. Flores’ complaint challenges what his attorneys describe as “sham” interviews conducted to comply with the league’s diversity rules, rather than genuinely considering minority candidates.

The ruling is considered a significant development in a lawsuit that has focused national attention on issues of race and opportunity in professional sports because it ensures that Flores’ allegations will be tried in a public forum with the transparency of trial testimony rather than private arbitration.

RELATED CONTENT: Court of Appeals rules that Brian Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against NFL can proceed