2 Hot NFL Issues: Brian Flores Lawsuit and Washington Commanders

Reginald Walker:

Welcome to SBJ Spotlight as we focus on two of the biggest NFL stories today. The fallout from the Brian Flores lawsuit and the Washington football team changing its nickname. I'm Reginald Walker joined by SBJ football writer, Ben Fischer. And Ben let's start with Brian Flores. That news broke on Tuesday afternoon. What's been the league response to the Brian Flores lawsuit? And what's he maybe trying to accomplish with this lawsuit?

Ben Fischer:

Well, first of all, it should come as no surprise to anybody that this is immediately took everything else off the plate in the NFL. There's a lot going on. There's a Super Bowl coming up. But since four o'clock Tuesday, nobody's talked about anything else.

            There are particularly scandalous details in the Flores complaint about his allegation that Steven Ross was encouraging him to tank in 2019. And that Bill Belichick accidentally congratulated the wrong person, and that's how he found out that the Giants interview was a sham. I mean, those things lend fuel to the fire, but the reason the fire is burning so brightly right now is that he has brought to the fore something that people around the league have been saying for a long time about the misapplication of the Rooney rule and the bad faith that so many teams seem to be engaging in, in terms of minority hiring at the coach and GM position.

            And I think there's a track record of this sort of thing happening, too, where there's something that everyone sort of talks about and believes to be true, but it's always really ephemeral, and it's hard to get your hands around the concept that nobody wants to speak out of turn unless they offend potential new employers or the league.

            But what Flores has done by putting a name to these complaints and by willing to step out and be the poster child of what everyone's been talking about for 20 years. He gives everyone else permission to talk about it. So yes, it's a scandalous complaint. And yes, we all sort of digest the news like we do in a big story.

            But now instantly the hiring practices of the 32 NFL teams is in the cross hairs conversationally in a way that has not been in a long, long time. So just by filing this complaint, he's made a lot of progress. And just in bringing these issues to bear in a more concrete way than it'd been in a long time. And I think he'll tell you, that's part of his goal. He wants to win the legal dispute. But he wants to just force this subject in a way that it's hard to, without something like a lawsuit.

Reginald Walker:

Now, the league released a statement vehemently denying some of these allegations as it related to the league itself. And then some of the teams that were named in the suit also did the same thing, releasing those statements. How do you think the league's going to handle this in terms of moving forward? Is this going to be potentially something drawn out or what do you think their next sort of step is in this process?

Ben Fischer:

Well, I think the league's in a bit of a tough spot rhetorically here. Because yes, they're going to fight the lawsuit and do everything that any responsible organization does when you're sued in court. But their own executives have essentially acknowledged some sort of problem in hiring as it relates to how black and other minority candidates are hired. Their own executive vice president, Troy Vincent has said repeatedly that there is a problem to be solved here.

            So for the NFL to come out yesterday and so aggressively deny all claims, deny any merit to what Flores is saying was interesting because I don't know how tenable that is. To me, the more likely long term path is to acknowledge general problems while denying these specifics in court and fighting the lawsuit.

            So I'm not sure where they go from here. Their PR messaging for years now has been, yes, we need to get better. On the other hand, they can't just acknowledge that everything Florida said was true or they'd have a major legal problem on their hands. So not clear at all to me where they go from here.

Reginald Walker:

Obviously the timing of this is always going to be something that sort of gets discussed happens on the same day, obviously that the Denver Broncos are officially up for sale. I think it'll be interesting to watch what the potential ownership groups or potential buyers of that team look like and how much that's influence going forward. 

Speaking of change at the top in the National Football League, the Washington Football Team announces a new nickname. They're now the Washington Commanders. So what's your immediate reaction, just you Ben obviously. And then what have you sort of heard from different teams or people around the league?

Ben Fischer:

My immediate reaction is that I don't know if it's a touchdown, but I think they converted a third down and five here. I don't think there's any obvious flaw with the new name. They kept the color scheme. They refreshed the burgundy and gold a little bit. It looks a little different. But I think most people say that the former nickname aside, they love those uniforms. That look, I think it's a winner for them and they didn't get rid of that while still managing to sort of update it a little bit.

            And Commanders. Yeah. maybe it's a little generic. It's not the Kraken, I don't think. In terms of an immediate hook. But I do agree with team president Jason Wright, who said it's got weight in meaning that's appropriate for a franchise that's 90 years old and that it embodies the of values of service and leadership in the DC area. And I can see that Commanders could work anywhere. But if you've ever lived in the DMV, you know somebody whose job title is commander one way or the other, between the massive military presence and all the various parts of the government. So it's got some local resonance. Maybe it's a little boring. But they didn't screw it up, I don't think either.

            In terms of broader reaction, it's been pretty negative. I think this team is going to be, what's the opposite of benefit of the doubt? Dan Snyder in Washington had made it so pretty much, no matter what they do short of hoist as Lombardi trophy, there's going to have a lot of haters on it. And they've earned that to be clear.

            The reaction right now is sort of underwhelming. The presentation on this today show didn't seem especially buttoned up or ambitious, but I think it's really unfair to criticize a nickname half an hour after you've seen it. I mean, is the Washington national as a creative nickname? I'm not even sure what a national is, but they build a relationship with their fans. They won a world series with that name. Nobody thinks twice about it now.

            So you make your team name. The Commanders, get their act together and don't have any more front office shenanigans and win a division or a conference or a Superbowl here at some point in the next 10 years, everyone will love it. I think for now, it's fine. Like I said, they didn't get the touchdown, but I think they did keep the drive alive.

Reginald Walker:

It's interesting you say that Ben, that they sort of kept the drive alive. Third and five, which is considered by most teams, a manageable third down. So they managed this changed pretty well. Ben Fischer, thanks for joining us on SBJ Spotlight.

Ben Fischer:

Anytime. 

2356 232

Suggested Podcasts

Bloomberg

The Craft Beer Channel

Andy Williams a Marc Muench

LSG Media

Gene Jensen

Against the Stream

日谈公园

Story Guys Productions

Deep