Unsealed court records show ‘racial stereotypes’ in Brian Flores recruitment memo, lawyer say

On Tuesday, courts unsealed documents from former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ recruitment process with the NFL. Flores’ lawyers saw the memo written by recruiter Korn Ferry for the Las Vegas Raiders as a racially stereotypical way of evaluating Black coaches.

Flores filed a discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and Houston Texans back in 2022 regarding hiring practices when it came to Black coaches. Flores was fired by the Miami Dolphins before the lawsuit was filed and is currently the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings.

Flores’ attorney Douglas H. Wigdor told Front Office Sports, “The recently unsealed documents demonstrate two unfortunate, but unsurprising, realities.”

“First, that Mr. Flores’ decision to hold the league and its teams accountable for systemic race discrimination has been met with unlawful retaliation.”

“Second,” Wigdor added, “discrimination continues to play a significant role in the hiring process for NFL Head Coaches, as evidenced by the fact that the candidate profile prepared for the Raiders leans heavily on racial stereotypes.”

Korn Ferry, the memo’s author, split the report into two columns under the headline “Brian Flores — Strengths and Weaknesses.”

One strength Korn Ferry listed for Flores said, “Polished and a good presenter despite growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn (same as Mike Tyson). He was able to build a strong friendship with a billionaire’s son which gave him opportunities to socialize and learn how to build relationships with white-collar and upper-class individuals.”

As for weaknesses, Korn Ferry wrote, “He can fool you with his polish upwards. Has little people skills, lacks self-awareness and can sometimes exhibit erratic behavior. Tua’s [Tagovailoa’s] statements have opened the narrative that Brian was ‘pessimistic and adversarial’ and his style ‘shattered his confidence.’”

“Chip on his shoulder — can be a dictator with players, coaches, and can even be difficult with ownership. His personality is unpredictable — not sure who is going to show up. Failed in how he hires coordinators and staff because he doesn’t give second chances or see efforts to improve.”

“Needs someone strong at the top to reign [sic] in some of his worst behavior. He once threatened violence to his GM and made irrational demands during an ownership meeting. One long-time senior team executive said, ‘He may have changed since, but he was the worst hiring decision we’ve ever made.’ Another President of a club refused to talk about him.”

Michael Willemin, another of Flores’ attorneys, told Front Office Sports that his client is being portrayed as an “angry Black man” and pointed out that the phrase “polish upwards” used by Korn Ferry is used as a racial stereotype to undermine Flores’ intelligence as a Black man.

The lawsuit remains open in federal court, and Flores’ legal team continues to pursue any discovery that would assist their client’s case.

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