Flores lawyer: Unconscionable for Goodell to arbitrate suit

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for an NFL coach who sued the league over alleged racist hiring practices has told a judge that arbitration is the wrong way to resolve the lawsuit in part because NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would be the arbitrator. Attorney Douglas Wigdor said in Manhattan federal court Monday that the league wanted to force “behind closed doors” the claims of Brian Flores and two other Black coaches. It was the first court hearing for a lawsuit Flores filed in February, when he claimed the league was “rife with racism” even as the NFL publicly condemns it. NFL attorney Loretta Lynch said all claims belong in arbitration. Flores was fired in January as head coach by the Miami Dolphins but has since been hired as assistant for the Pittsburgh Steelers,