The recent class-action lawsuit filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has led to more coaches in the league attaching to the legal action. A class-action lawsuit is one in which joining on becomes an option for others who are experiencing the same problem regarding the primary issue in the claim. In this case, the issue is discrimination in employment. While this issue began in Florida and there is no NFL franchise in Rhode Island, there are still individuals from Rhode Island in the league, and the ruling from the case can set precedent for other industries across the nation.
The original filing
Brian Flores was the former head coach of the Miami Dolphins football franchise and was released from duty at the end of last season. His term at Miami was relatively successful, but the ownership was apparently not very receptive to that success. According to Flores, some questionable requests were made of him behind the scenes that included tanking games on purpose for better draft positioning for the next season. Of course, coaches are fired based on their won/loss record for the most part, leaving Flores in a unwanted situation due to desire to maintain a good record. And it went further to explain the hiring process and how employment law stipulation rules apply.
Subsequent plaintiff additions
As the situation has been further discussed, more people who were being interviewed for coaching positions began experiencing similar problems, all of which fall under the topic of employment discrimination. The most recent coaches to file in association with the class action suit claim that they were not given a fair evaluation by their respective NFL employers regarding consideration for coaching jobs because the decision had already been made informally with the team management to comply with the recently established Rooney Rule.
The Rooney Rule is relatively simple, and they say it does nothing to quell the NFL hiring problem. The rules merely state that all teams must interview at least two black applicants for any coaching position, including head coaches, which can easily be manipulated.