A discrimination lawsuit led by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores can proceed toward trial after the Supreme Court ruled against an NFL appeal on Tuesday.Flores, who is Black, has been in a legal battle with the NFL and multiple teams since 2022, when he sued over his belief that he was treated unfairly due to his race after his firing as Dolphins head coach. He alleged that the league remains “rife with racism, particularly when it comes to the hiring and retention of Black head coaches, coordinators and general managers.” The NFL appealed to have the case handled through its arbitration process rather than open court in New York, which was denied.NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement: “We respect the Supreme Court’s decision not to grant review. Regardless of the forum, we are fully prepared to defend ourselves as this matter proceeds.”The NFL elevated its appeal to the Supreme Court after unsuccessful attempts to allow the matter to be settled through arbitration in the lower courts. In 2023, a federal judge allowed some claims in Flores’ lawsuit to go to arbitration, while others — including those against the New York Giants, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, all teams Flores interviewed with at some point — were to remain in court. In August 2025, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld that ruling, which also determined that “related claims” against the NFL could proceed in court.Since the suit’s inception, other coaches, including former New York Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and former DC for multiple NFL clubs Ray Horton, joined as plaintiffs. Flores completed his third season as defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings in 2025.David Gottlieb and Douglas Wigdor, attorneys for the plaintiffs, said in a statement they were pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday.“The NFL must now accept that its commissioner cannot be the arbitrator over discrimination claims against the league and its teams,” the statement read. “We look forward to litigating these claims in court.”Flores was fired from the Dolphins in 2021 after going 24-25 over three seasons. He sued the NFL and several teams one month later, accusing the Giants and Broncos of sham Rooney Rule interviews and alleging the Texans retaliated against him for filing the lawsuit.Earlier this month, lawyers representing the NFL and several of its teams facing allegations of employment discrimination sent a memo to a federal judge overseeing the case, accusing Flores’ team of filing “punishingly overbroad discovery requests,” including 24 years’ worth of hiring and employment documents from nearly every NFL team.In the memo, lawyers called the document requests a delay tactic meant to interfere with the defendants’ motions to dismiss the case altogether, which were scheduled to be brought by June 5. Flores’ attorneys argued the extensive documentation is necessary to prove his allegations that “systemic racial discrimination” plays a role in hiring and firing decisions throughout the league.Flores filed an amended complaint on May 20, arguing that the head coach hiring process “is not a set of mere independent discretionary decisions by each team. Rather, the Head Coach hiring process operates within a closed and highly interconnected ecosystem.”May 26, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms