Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks and league veteran Ray Horton join Brian Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and its teams in an amended complaint.
According to an amended complaint filed Thursday, two more coaches joined a class-action lawsuit by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores alleging discrimination against black candidates for top-level coaching and management positions in the National Football League (NFL).
The league had previously said that Flores’ case lacked merit, and the Dolphins filed for arbitration. Flores is now the senior defensive assistant and linebacker coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The amended complaint included two new plaintiffs – former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilkes and league veteran Ray Horton.
The complaint said that Wilks was not given a “significant chance to succeed” in his role with the Cardinals, which he held during the 2018 season, before being “unfairly and discriminatoryly fired” in December.
The Cardinals said the decisions they made after the 2018 season were tough.
“But, as we said at the time, they were fully guided by what was in the interests of our organization and was necessary to improve the team,” the statement said.
“We are confident that the facts reflect this and demonstrate that these claims are not true.”
Horton was the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator prior to his January 2016 head coach interview. In the complaint, Horton said the interview was a “sham” conducted under the “Rooney Rule” that minority candidates must be considered. for top coaching and staff positions.
The Titans did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
