NFL Cites Jon Gruden Win in Brian Flores Discrimination Case Appeal

In new dueling filings at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the NFL and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores debate whether a federal trial judge correctly advanced Flores’ race discrimination and retaliation claims against the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Houston Texans and related claims against the NFL.

In a Sept. 13 brief, the league invokes its recent victory against former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden at the Supreme Court of Nevada to support its contention that Flores, like Gruden, must resolve disputes through an arbitration process overseen by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell before the coach can turn to federal courts. Although the Gruden case is from another jurisdiction and is not binding precedent at the Second Circuit, the NFL believes it advances league arguments.

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Last year, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni rejected the NFL’s assertion that Flores’ claims against the Broncos, Giants and Texans should be dismissed to an arbitration process detailed in the league constitution. Flores claims those organizations gave him “sham interviews” before denying him coaching positions.

As only a job candidate, Flores never signed employment contracts with those teams. While Flores’ employment contracts with the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers contemplated arbitration, Caproni reasoned that those contracts didn’t govern his matters with the Broncos, Giants and Texans. On the other hand, Caproni dispatched Flores’ claims against his former employer, the Miami Dolphins, to arbitration since his employment contract with the Dolphins contemplated arbitration.

The NFL argues Caproni erred in several ways, including when she concluded that under Massachusetts case precedent, the arbitration clause—as contained in the league constitution and referenced in Flores’ Patriots contract—was “illusory and unenforceable.”

Caproni stressed that the NFL and its teams…


Source link : https://www.yahoo.com/news/nfl-cites-jon-gruden-win-130000332.html

Author : Sportico

Publish date : 2024-09-17 13:00:00

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