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.