Attorneys for Brian Flores, other coaches blast the idea of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell heading arbitration in racial bias lawsuit
NEW YORK – Attorneys for three black NFL coaches allege the federation of racial bias targeted commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday in their latest arguments against arbitrating a dispute they presumed to be on the jury.
In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, the attorneys wrote that arbitration would allow “unreasonably biased one-sided kangaroo courts” “to decide the outcome of the lawsuit filed on February by Brian Flores, who was fired in January as head coach of Miami Dolphins. He is currently an assistant coach with Pittsburgh Steelers.
Two other coaches – Carolina Panthers defensive passing game coordinator Steve Wilks and former NFL defensive line coordinator Ray Horton – the latter joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.
Their attorneys said Goodell, who would head the arbitration if the case was not decided by a jury, could not be fair in overseeing and ruling the dispute over whether the NFL engaged in segregation. systematic treatment or not. They included articles about Goodell’s salary and other personal details.
They cited the hundreds of millions of dollars he made from the teams, his public statement that the lawsuit was worthless, and the possibility that he could be a witness in the case.
In June, attorneys for the NFL and six of its teams said arbitration was required because the coaches had agreed in their contracts to multiple arbitration clauses “covering the full spectrum of claims.” their request.” They also said coaches were asked to referee individually rather than as a group.
Attorneys for the federation and its teams did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Letting Goodell preside over the case would “go against established authority and social norms” and create a new standard for arbitration that would allow it to be approved “regardless of due process bias.” how unfair and unfair,” the coaches’ attorneys said in their latest submission.
They added that it would “encourage employers to create arbitrators that are clearly unfair with guarantees that they will be approved by the courts.”
“If the Court were to mandate arbitration, the number of employers monitoring this case, and those who know about it, would certainly change their arbitration provisions to allow the appointment of an arbitrator. the decision is clearly biased,” the lawyers said.
A few weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni denied attorneys’ request that the coaches gather more evidence before she could rule on whether the case should be classified. treat or not.
That move makes it more likely that she will deliver a ruling on the arbitration issue within weeks rather than months.
