'Malicious And Defamatory': Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross Denies Brian Flores' Allegations
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross isn't going down without a fight.
On Wednesday, Ross denied all allegations that he offered to pay former head coach Brian Flores $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season in order to tank for a higher draft pick.
"With regards to the allegations being made by Brian Flores, I am a man of honor and integrity and cannot let them stand without responding," Ross wrote in a statement. "I take great personal exception to those malicious attacks, and the truth must be known. His allegations are false, malicious and defamatory.
"We understand there are media reports stating that the NFL intends to investigate his claims, and we will cooperate fully. I welcome that investigation and I am eager to defend my personal integrity, and the integrity and values of the entire Miami Dolphins organization, from these baseless, unfair and disparaging claims."
Flores, 40, was fired at the end of the 2021 season after going 24-25 over three seasons. After starting out 1-7, the Dolphins finished 2021 winning eight of their last nine.
According to the lawsuit, Flores was fired for "poor collaboration, which itself has discriminatory undertones."
"Mr. Flores' only failure to collaborate was his refusal to tank the 2019 season as had been requested by Mr. Ross," the lawsuit states. "When he refused, and then over-performed and led the team to winning records in two consecutive seasons with a roster few experts predicted could do so -- he was fired."
As OutKick's Armando Salguero wrote in his Thursday column, Flores' allegations of racial discrimination are the result of a bigger issue.
"The problem is not that 28 teams today have head coaches and only one of them -- Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- is black," Salguero wrote. "That almost unbelievable statistic is a fallout of the problem. A symptom. But that's not the root cause. The root cause is the NFL has an ownership problem."
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