Eli Manning defends NY Giants against discrimination claim from Brian Flores: 'I don’t think there was any wrongdoing there'



Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning defended the team against accusations of racial bias by Brian Flores, the former Miami Dolphins head coach who is suing the NFL for discrimination.

The lawsuit from Flores alleges that the Giants management team had already chosen another coach for the job opening, but they went on to interview him. Flores discovered the futility of his interview when New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick accidentally texted him a congratulations, believing he was texting Brian Daboll who later got the job.

Manning said on Wednesday that the Giants did nothing wrong in his opinion.

“I know the Giants organization. I know they do everything possible to give everybody a fair chance," said Manning to the New York Post.

"They don’t care, minority or not, they are looking for the best possible candidate," he added. "They are going to do everything properly to look for that perfect candidate. So, I don’t think there was any wrongdoing there.”

Manning clarified that he was not involved in the process of the team finding a new head coach and didn't know the details outside of the lawsuit accusations.

Flores made other bombshell accusations in the lawsuit, including the claim that the owner of the Miami Dolphins offered him $100,000 per lost game in order to improve their draft status. He also said that in a meeting with the Denver Broncos, then-manager John Elway and others arrived an hour late, disheveled, and looked like they had been drinking too hard the night before.

The Giants, the Dolphins, and the Broncos all released statements denying the accusations by Flores.

Manning led the Giants to two Super Bowl championship victories, both against the New England Patriots headed by iconic quarterback Tom Brady.

Here's more about the allegations from Flores:

Former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores Is Accusing NFL Of Racismwww.youtube.com

Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores makes bombshell claims in lawsuit against the NFL for alleged racist hiring practices



Brian Flores, the former head coach of the Miami Dolphins, filed a lawsuit against the National Football League, and three teams in particular, alleging racial discrimination in their head coach hiring practices.

Flores was considered a top pick for many of the open coaching slots among the 32 professional football teams, but he is alleging that the league discriminated against him because he's black.

Among the bombshell claims in the lawsuit, Flores says that the owner of the Dolphins offered him bonus pay for every loss of the team in order to improve their draft status for the next year.

The lawsuit cites an accidental admission to Flores via cellphone text messages by Bill Belichick, the head coach of the New England Patriots.

Belichick confused Flores for Brian Daboll, who was hired on as the head coach by the New York Giants. Flores was on his way to be interviewed by the team when Belichick texted him that they had already decided on Daboll, who is a white man.

"Sorry — I f***ed this up. I double checked and misread the text. I think they are naming Brian Daboll. I'm sorry about that," Belichick texted.

The lawsuit also cites an uncomfortable interview between Flores and the top executives of the Denver Broncos. Flores said they showed up an hour late, were "disheveled" and appeared to be hungover from drinking the night before, which he took as evidence that they were not serious about hiring him for the head coach position.

The lawsuit was filed against the Giants, the Broncos, and the Dolphins in addition to the NFL.

The league responded to the lawsuit in a statement denying the allegations.

"The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organizations," read the statement.

"Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit," the statement concluded.

The Dolphins team also released a statement denying the claims.

"We are aware of the lawsuit through the media reports that came out this afternoon. We vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization," read their statement.

"The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect," the team concluded. "We will be withholding further comment on the lawsuit at this time."

Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports tweeted that he spoke to two other coaches who might join the class action lawsuit.

"This could be a tsunami before it’s all over," said Robinson.

Here's more about the Flores lawsuit against the NFL:

Former NFL Coach Files Lawsuit Claiming Racial Discriminationwww.youtube.com