Flores Recruiting Memo Uses Racial Stereotypes, Lawyers Say — SkimNews
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- Korn Ferry produced a recruiting memo for the Las Vegas Raiders during a recent coaching search that was unsealed Tuesday as part of Brian Flores' discrimination lawsuit, and Flores' lawyers say it leans heavily on racial stereotypes.
- Flores' attorneys — Douglas H. Wigdor and Michael Willemin — characterized the memo as evidence of both unlawful retaliation against their client and ongoing discrimination in NFL head-coach hiring, with Willemin telling Front Office Sports the report portrays Flores as an 'angry Black man.'
- The memo's 'Strengths' column described Flores as 'polished and a good presenter despite growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn (same as Mike Tyson)' and credited his ability to 'build a strong friendship with a billionaire's son' as giving him access to 'white-collar and upper-class individuals.'
- The 'Weaknesses' column claimed Flores 'can fool you with his polish upwards,' has 'little people skills' and 'erratic behavior,' carries a 'chip on his shoulder,' and asserted he 'once threatened violence to his GM and made irrational demands during an ownership meeting.'
- Flores, now the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator, sued the NFL, the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the Houston Texans in February 2022 alleging systemic racism in coaching hires, and was later joined in the lawsuit by Black coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton.
- The memo also cited Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's past statements that Flores was 'pessimistic and adversarial' and that his coaching style 'shattered his confidence,' and flagged 'ongoing litigation' as a potential distraction — a line Willemin cited as evidence of leaguewide retaliation.
Why it matters: The unsealed memo supplies documentary evidence for Flores' February 2022 discrimination lawsuit — a major recruiting firm describing a Black coaching candidate using racially-coded language about Brownsville, Brooklyn, 'polish upwards,' and billionaire friendships. For the NFL, already under repeated scrutiny over its head-coach hiring, the profile bolsters claims of systemic bias and retaliation against a coach who sued three of its franchises.
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