According to the NFL’s website, “The Rooney Rule establishes best practices designed to expand opportunity and strengthen the NFL’s talent pipeline across leadership roles. It is part of a broader effort to develop a deep and sustainable talent pipeline across all levels of the NFL. The policy is intended to ensure that qualified candidates from a wide range of backgrounds are identified and considered for leadership roles.”

The definition, however, ends with the claim, “Final hiring decisions remain with each club.” For Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who believes he was fired by the Miami Dolphins and then treated unfairly by the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants, that last statement is the root of the issue.

As such, he has been in a legal battle with the league and the teams over the Rooney Rule since February 2022. The NFL argued to put the hearing through its set arbitration process, but Judge Valerie Caproni of the Southern District of New York denied the appeal three months ago. The league then went to the Supreme Court with the same request, and it finally has an answer. But the bigger story is what not many have thought of yet.

On Tuesday, May 26th, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the discrimination lawsuit. It effectively sends the case New York Football Giants v. Flores, U.S., No. 25-790, 5/26/26, to trial in federal court, where the league must face accusations that its hiring process discriminates against minority coaches.

There are two sides to every coin, however. And here is why we are in this situation:

Brian Flores’ claim:

Flores and fellow coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton invested in this lawsuit did not want the case to go into arbitration because, by default, Roger Goodell would be the arbitrator dealing with it. Naturally, it is difficult to fathom that he would be as fair to this case given his own involvement as a defendant.

One can argue that Goodell did choose a third-party arbitrator to proceed with the case. However, as the plaintiff’s complaint read:

“Mr. Goodell then delegated arbitral authority to an arbitrator who is clearly biased and beholden to the NFL.”

According to The Athletic, Flores mentioned that the NFL retaliated against him and the other plaintiffs, and Goodell declared the case “football-related” in order “to retain control of the arbitration.”

“The court’s decision recognizes that an arbitration forum in which the defendant’s own chief executive gets to decide the case would strip employees of their rights under the law,” Flores’ attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and David E. Gottlieb said when Caproni sided with the plaintiff this February. “It is long overdue for the NFL to recognize this and finally provide a fair, neutral, and transparent forum for these issues to be addressed.”

The NFL’s claim:

Earlier this month, Flores and his attorneys requested documents related to the hiring processes of over 24 years from at least “25 non-party clubs.” According to them, they needed the discovery to understand the patterns of racial discrimination in the league when it comes to talent acquisition and hiring.

The league’s attorneys argued that these were “punishingly overbroad discovery requests.” However, they had a bigger accusation to add.

You see, the NFL wanted to get the case dismissed instead of fighting it in the open court, as any defendant would want. However, with the plaintiffs asking for the 1,061 documents with all details, enough time would be wasted. The delay tactic would hinder the NFL’s motion to dismiss, which was scheduled for June 5.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and David E. Gottlieb issued a statement regarding the matter.

“The NFL must now accept that its commissioner cannot be the arbitrator over discrimination claims against the league and its teams,” they said. “We look forward to litigating these claims in court.”

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals had already determined last year that the NFL’s arbitration argument was “plainly unenforceable” due to Commissioner Roger Goodell’s authority over the process. The Supreme Court’s decision lets that ruling stand.

The case will now move to New York’s court, where the NFL will have to either come clean or settle with everyone involved. Considering the context of the case, it might be a tough fight for them.

Flores & Co. believe they were treated unfairly by the league

Flores had originally filed the lawsuit in February 2022, after the Miami Dolphins fired him a month before. In his initial lawsuit, he sued the NFL, the Dolphins, the Denver Broncos, and the New York Giants, claiming the league was “rife with racism” in how it hired and promoted Black coaches.

Before this, Flores was a head coach for the Dolphins since 2019. But the team fired him after three seasons. While his overall record stands at 24-25 there, he did give them consecutive winning seasons in 2020 and 2021. He then gave interviews to the Giants and the Broncos but called them a formality due to the Rooney Rule, according to which, every team should give equal opportunities to all talents. However, it also does not enforce hiring.

Fellow coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton also joined Flores as co-plaintiffs in April 2022, adding three more teams to the lawsuit – The Arizona Cardinals, the Houston Texans, and the Tennessee Titans. Wilks, the former Cardinals head coach, alleged that the Cardinals hired him as a “bridge coach” without giving him a real shot.

Horton, longtime defensive coordinator, alleged the Titans gave him a “sham” interview for their 2016 head coaching job only to fulfill the Rooney Rule, and had already decided on Mike Mularkey instead.

Brian Flores currently serves as the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator, but remains without another head coaching opportunity despite interviewing for multiple jobs since being fired. While there may still be good fits waiting for him, questions persist about his future after going against the league with this lawsuit.

But even before any of that, the Supreme Court’s decision now kicks off Flores’ legal battle in earnest. The outcome will determine whether this lawsuit exposes discrimination or not, but not without some resistance from the league.

The “scorched-earth” scenario for Flores vs. the NFL

With Flores actively pushing for transparency from 31 teams on their hiring practices, sports attorney Stephen Deubert believes that teams could present a collective resistance, standing behind Roger Goodell.

“They’re obviously going scorched-earth,” Duebert told Front Office Sports’ Daniel Kaplan. “Presuming he’s asking about their employment and hiring practices and policies, and even that can be difficult to just to respond to.

“But those teams are probably going to object to the subpoenas, probably collectively through the league-friendly counsel, and say it’s not relevant, and there’ll be an interesting sort of fight there.”

The league tried to solve this through arbitration, but failed. Now, as the case moves forward, the league has noted that it’s “fully prepared to defend ourselves as this matter proceeds.”

Ten head coaching openings appeared after the 2025 season ended. No Black coaches were hired, and only Robert Saleh was the minority coach who got hired as the head coach for the Titans.

There are only three Black head coaches in the league currently: Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Aaron Glenn (New York Jets), and DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans). The subpoenas from Flores demand documentation explaining these hiring decisions. Or the lack thereof.

The Supreme Court’s decision forces Roger Goodell & Co. into open court, where the subpoena challenges will be tested. How the teams respond, and how Flores continues his battle against the league, might end up changing the league’s hiring patterns forever.