Brian Flores’ attorneys, others may not gather more evidence before deciding whether the case should go to arbitration.
NEW YORK – A judge on Thursday raised the possibility that she will rule in weeks instead of months whether NFL commissioner Roger Goodell can decide the merits of racist claims by the judges. black coaches against the federation and its teams, saying an attempt to gather more evidence seems like “an unacceptable fishing expedition.”
U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni said in a written ruling that coaches’ attorneys Brian Flores, Steve Wilks and Ray Horton may not gather more evidence from the defendants to support their argument. them that the case in Manhattan federal court should be upheld in court rather than referred to arbitration.
“Because the Plaintiffs should know whether they entered into any other contract or agreement that would affect their arbitration agreement, the Court can only find that they are attempting to make a Fishing expeditions are not allowed,” Caproni wrote.
However, the judge said the coaches’ lawyers could argue that the proposed arbitrator was so biased against them that a recommendation to force arbitration should not be made, but she said they don’t need discovery to do so.
Flores, who was fired in January as head coach of Miami Dolphins and is currently an assistant coach with Pittsburgh Steelers, filed a lawsuit in February, saying the union was “rife with racism” even as it publicly condemned it. Other coaches later joined the lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages and class action status.
The NFL and six of its teams that say the lawsuit they maintain is “unwarranted” is asking for arbitration, where Goodell will be the arbitrator, under the terms set forth in the employment contract. action and in the NFL’s constitution.
Caproni wrote that courts have traditionally not allowed lawyers to gather evidence before deciding whether a case is required to go to arbitration.
“An agreement to arbitrate is binding on the parties unless the agreement is void under state contract law,” she wrote. “Therefore, for a motion to require arbitration, the Court’s analysis is generally limited to determining whether there is a valid agreement to arbitrate, whether a party has failed to perform its obligations under that agreement and whether the agreement, properly interpreted, includes the dispute at hand.”
Attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis, representing Flores, said in a statement that they are “confident that we will defeat the NFL’s efforts to refer this matter to a separate and confidential arbitration.” secret.”
“It’s clear that the NFL is trying to conceal this process and avoid public scrutiny for the retaliatory and racist statements we have made. If they are confident in their ability to defend, it’s clear that the NFL is trying to hide this process and avoid public scrutiny. , they should let the process take place in court so it can be seen by the public,” the lawyers said.
In Thursday’s ruling, Caproni directed attorneys for coaches to submit written arguments against the referee by August 19 and request a response from the NFL and its teams by May 26. 8.
Her decision comes just days after the NFL released the results of its investigation into Flores’ allegations that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered $100,000 a game to intentionally lose the game. .
Investigators say the team didn’t intentionally lose and neither Ross nor anyone on the team said Flores lost on purpose. And the investigators added that any offer of $100,000 a game is “not intended or taken as a serious offer.”
NFL suspends Ross and fines him $1.5 million for having unauthorized contact with brave cat when he signed a contract with New England Patriots and with Sean Payton before he announced his decision to retire as coach of New Orleans Saints.
In a statement, Ross called Flores’ allegations “false, malicious and defamatory.”
Attorneys for the NFL and its teams did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
