Dolphins, Broncos deny allegations from Brian Flores lawsuit

The NFL world was rocked Tuesday when it was learned former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has filed a class-action lawsuit against the league and, per Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN, against the Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and New York Giants that alleges racial discrimination regarding his interview processes and his time with the Dolphins. 

Both the NFL and Giants had already denied claims mentioned in the lawsuit on Tuesday, and the Dolphins and Broncos have since added themselves to the list. 

Specifically, Flores has claimed, among other things, he was offered $100,000 per loss by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to "tank" during the 2019 season so the team could land the best quarterback possible during the subsequent draft. Meanwhile, the lawsuit adds the Broncos conducted a "sham" interview of Flores in 2019 simply to honor the Rooney Rule that requires clubs to speak with minority candidates for open jobs at positions such as head coach. 

"We are aware of the lawsuit through the media reports that act out this afternoon," the Dolphins responded in a statement, according to Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "We vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization. The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect. We will be withholding further comment on the lawsuit at this time." 

PFT's Mike Florio shared a statement released by the Broncos: 

"The allegations from Brian Flores directed toward the Denver Broncos in today’s court filing are blatantly false. Our interview with Mr. Flores regarding our head coaching position began promptly at the scheduled time of 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 5, 2019, in a Providence, R.I., hotel. There were five Broncos executives present for the interview, which lasted approximately three-and-a-half hours—the fully allotted time—and concluded shortly before 11 a.m.

"Pages of detailed notes, analysis and evaluations from our interview demonstrate the depth of our conversation and sincere interest in Mr. Flores as a head coaching candidate. Our process was thorough and fair to determine the most qualified candidate for our head coaching position. The Broncos will vigorously defend the integrity and values of our organization—and its employees—from such baseless and disparaging claims." 

In the lawsuit, Flores claims Broncos executives John Elway and Joe Ellis arrived late to the interview appearing "completely disheveled" and that "it was obvious that they had [been] drinking heavily the night before."