Lawyers say Korn Ferry report on Brian Flores leans on racial stereotypes and amounts to unlawful retaliation

Brian Flores’ lawyers said a Korn Ferry recruiting report prepared for the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2024 head-coaching search, which was unsealed and made public on Tuesday, contains racial stereotypes and amounts to unlawful retaliation. Flores is now the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings.

The document, which lawyers say lists six strengths and seven weaknesses, was prepared in connection with the Raiders’ head-coaching vacancy in 2024 and, his attorneys contend, demonstrates the league’s continued reliance on racial stereotyping in hiring and retaliation after his discrimination suit. Flores sued the NFL and three teams in February 2022, alleging the league was "rife with racism" in its hiring practices; he had recently been fired as head coach of the Miami Dolphins and two other Black coaches, Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, subsequently joined the lawsuit. The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The recently unsealed documents demonstrate two unfortunate, but unsurprising, realities," attorney Michael J Willemin said in a statement. "First, that Mr Flores’ decision to hold the league and its teams accountable for systemic race discrimination has been met with unlawful retaliation. Second, discrimination continues to play a significant role in the hiring process for NFL Head Coaches, as evidenced by the fact that the candidate profile prepared for the Raiders leans heavily on racial stereotypes." Willemin added: "We and Mr Flores are committed to eradicating the institutional racism and retaliation that permeates the league, its teams and their partners."

One entry the report lists as a strength describes Flores as "polished and a good presenter despite growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn (same as Mike Tyson). He was able to build a strong friendship with a billionaire’s son which gave him opportunities to socialize and learn how to build relationships with white-collar and upper-class individuals." The report notes that Brownsville is a predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Among the weaknesses the report assigns to Flores is that he "can fool you with his polish upwards. Has little people skills, lacks self-awareness and can sometimes exhibit erratic behavior." It also cites comments attributed to former Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that had contributed, the report says, to a narrative that Flores was "pessimistic and adversarial" and that his coaching style had "shattered his confidence."

Additional criticisms recorded in the report include that Flores’ "personality is unpredictable" and that he "once threatened violence to his GM and made irrational demands during an ownership meeting." The document also quotes an unnamed longtime senior executive as saying Flores "may have changed since, but he was the worst hiring decision we’ve ever made." The final weakness listed in the report is that Flores’ ongoing discrimination lawsuit against the NFL "could become a distraction."

The Korn Ferry recruiting assessment was first published by Front Office Sports and obtained by the Associated Press. The unsealed document, prepared for the Raiders’ 2024 head-coaching search, lists six strengths and seven weaknesses and was made public on Tuesday.