play
Ruling says Flores lawsuit vs. NFL can go to court (0:47)
Ruling says Flores lawsuit vs. NFL can go to court (0:47)
Feb 13, 2026, 01:57 PM ET
A U.S. district court ruled Friday that Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ ongoing discrimination case against the NFL can proceed in open court.
Last year, attorneys for Flores, along with fellow coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, asked for reconsideration of a court order that shifted some of their lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams to the league’s arbitration process.
They had argued that the 2023 order should be reconsidered based on an August 2025 ruling that found insurmountable flaws in the league’s arbitration process.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York’s decision Friday means all claims can be handled at trial.
«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,» the coaches’ attorneys, Douglas H. Wigdor and David E. Gottlieb, said in a statement. «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.»
Flores sued the NFL and three teams — the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Houston Texans — in January 2022 after he had been fired by the Miami Dolphins as their head coach and was in the process of interviewing for other jobs. His original claim accused the league of being «rife with racism,» particularly in its hiring and promotion of Black coaches.
Wilks’ claims are against the Arizona Cardinals and Horton’s against the Tennessee Titans.
Information from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert was used in this report.
