Brian Flores litigation could provide a path to…

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On the surface, the lawsuit filed by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores has nothing to do with the Washington Commanders investigation and various associated issues. Just below the surface, the Flores case creates a connection that could force the NFL and Washington to allow more documents to be produced.

From paragraphs 73 through 90 of his complaint, Flores addresses the situation involving the emails from the Washington investigation that resulted in Gruden resigning as coach of the Raiders.

“It simply cannot be a surprise to NFL executives, insiders and team owners — who have collectively spent the last three decades in the proximity of Mr. Gruden — that this is who Mr. Gruden is and that these are the beliefs he harbors,” Flores alleges. “Nonetheless, Mr. Gruden remained an inner-circle candidate for virtually every Head Coach position over the 10-year period that followed his departure from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008. . . . When the news of Mr. Gruden’s racist emails finally surfaced, rather than an unequivocal rebuke and a for-cause termination, the Raiders allowed him to graciously resign and claim that it was due to his desire not to be a distraction.”

Flores also points to the termination of G.M. Reggie McKenzie, who is Black, and his replacement with Mike Mayock, who is white. Flores takes it a step farther, suggesting that the Mayock-Gruden partnership was responsible for a sharp decrease in Black players on the Raiders.

“Under Mr. McKenzie, the Raiders had the highest percentage of Black players at 82.3%, and he won the NFL Executive of the Year Award in 2016 after compiling a 12-4 records,” Flores alleges. “Under all-white leadership (Owner, General Manager and Head Coach), the percentage of Black players on the Raiders decreased every year that followed. By 2021, the percentage of Black players on the Raiders roster dropped to 67.2%.”

It’s a strong allegation, suggesting that racial bias extended to the selection of players by Gruden, who was as a practical (if not literal) matter running the show with the Raiders. Regardless, the inclusion of Gruden’s situation and the manner in which it came to light could result in Flores’s lawyers trying to gather more information regarding the emails sent and received by Gruden and others, which could reveal more statements indicating racial biases and prejudices.

The standard for the discovery phase of litigation is broad. Parties are entitled to seek evidence relevant to the case, as well as information reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of relevant evidence. While the NFL would surely argue that a request to inspect the full 650,000-email cache from which the Gruden emails came as a fishing expedition, the Gruden emails — selectively and deliberately leaked by someone to the media — provide sound reason to believe that there are plenty of fish in this specific sea.

So if Gruden’s case fails to get off the ground and if Congress fails to get to the materials through its current investigation, maybe Flores and his class action will provide the arrow that hits the bull’s-eye, forcing transparency onto the Washington investigation at a time when the league and the team want to keep all emails and anything else related to the situation buried.