Broncos' John Elway: Brian Flores' allegations are 'false and defamatory'

A few of the allegations in the now-famous class action lawsuit filed Tuesday say Denver Broncos president of football operations John Elway and team CEO Joe Ellis arrived for a 2019 interview with then-head coach candidate Brian Flores "an hour late" and looking "completely disheveled," and also that "it was obvious that they had [been] drinking heavily the night before.''

The Broncos vehemently denied those allegations later on Tuesday, and Elway defended himself in a statement shared by media outlets on Thursday. 

"While I was not planning to respond publicly to the false and defamatory claims by Brian Flores, I could not be silent any longer with my character, integrity and professionalism being attacked," Elway said, per the NFL's website. "I took Coach Flores very seriously as a candidate for our head coaching position in 2019 and enjoyed our three-and-a-half hour interview with him. Along with the rest of our group, I was prepared, ready and fully engaged during the entire interview as Brian shared his experience and vision for our team. It's unfortunate and shocking to learn for the first time this week that Brian felt differently about our interview with him.

"For Brian to make an assumption about my appearance and state of mind early that morning was subjective, hurtful and just plain wrong. If I appeared 'disheveled,' as he claimed, it was because we had flown in during the middle of the night — immediately following another interview in Denver — and were going on a few hours of sleep to meet the only window provided to us.

"I interviewed Brian in good faith, giving him the same consideration and opportunity as every other candidate for our head coaching position in 2019."

In the lawsuit, Flores alleges the Broncos only interviewed him to comply with the Rooney Rule, which mandates that teams interview minority candidates for vacancies at positions such as head coach. Denver ultimately hired Vic Fangio, who is white, in January 2019. 

As Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio notes, Elway's use of the word "defamatory" suggests he could pursue legal action against Flores. Late Wednesday night, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross used that same word in a statement denying allegations made against him by Flores in the lawsuit.