Brian Flores has filed a lawsuit against the New York Giants, and the main piece of evidence in the suit is a text message exchange he had with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
Flores has accused the Giants of racial discrimination in the process that led to them hiring Brian Daboll as their next head coach. The lawsuit states (here is the PDF file) that the Giants had decided on hiring Daboll before they had even interviewed Flores. Flores learned that Daboll was in line to get the job after Belichick mistakenly texted him congratulating him. Belichick, who had Flores on his staff in New England for more than a decade, allegedly texted Flores thinking he was texting Daboll, who is another former Belichick assistant.
Flores quickly realized that Belichick meant to text Daboll, as evidenced by Belichick referencing the Buffalo Bills. Daboll was previously the offensive coordinator with the Bills. You can see the screenshots of the texts below:
These are the purported text messages from Bill Belichick to Brian Flores that allegedly implicate the Giants of a “sham” interview. https://t.co/DUCB5pGXwh pic.twitter.com/TNWf72Rl2i
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) February 1, 2022
The texts appear to be proof that the Giants violated the spirit of the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates before making a hire.
Belichick has a reputation for despising technology and social media. Fans were not surprised that he allegedly texted the wrong Brian. The 69-year-old appeared to make an honest mistake, but it is one that served as a catalyst for a massive lawsuit.
Photo: Oct 10, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reacts during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
