Updated Feb. 13, 2026, 1:51 p.m. MT<\/p>\n
Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL \u2014 and four teams, including the Denver Broncos<\/a> \u2014 can be litigated in open court after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled against commissioner Roger Goodell serving as an arbitrator between Flores and the league.<\/p>\n “The ruling means that the Flores claims against the NFL, the Dolphins<\/a>, the Giants<\/a>, the Broncos<\/a>, and the Texans<\/a> will be handled in court, not arbitration,” Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com<\/a> wrote on Friday. “It also applies to the claims made by Steve Wilks against the Cardinals<\/a>, and by Ray Horton against the Titans<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Flores, 44, currently serves as the Minnesota Vikings<\/a>‘ defensive coordinator. He filed the lawsuit in 2022,\u00a0accusing the NFL of racism in hiring<\/a>. The lawsuit named the\u00a0Broncos<\/a>\u00a0after Flores alleged they interviewed him for their head coach opening in 2021 “only because of the Rooney Rule.” Denver denied those allegations in 2022, calling them “blatantly false<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Despite the ongoing lawsuit, the Broncos<\/a>\u00a0put in a request<\/a>\u00a0to interview Flores for their defensive coordinator position in 2023.\u00a0He ended up joining Minnesota instead, and Denver hired Vance Joseph.<\/p>\n Social: Follow\u00a0Broncos Wire<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter\/X<\/a>!\u00a0Did you know:\u00a0These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans<\/a>.<\/p>\n