First Black female AG in US history to defend the NFL in racial discrimination lawsuit

By Homero De la Fuente, David Close, Kevin Dotson and Amir Vera, CNN

Updated 0228 GMT (1028 HKT) February 17, 2022

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice on March 24, 2016, in Washington.

(CNN)The NFL hired former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch as part of its defense counsel against the class-action lawsuit filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, a spokesperson for the league told CNN on Wednesday.

Lynch, who was the first Black female attorney general in US history, will defend the NFL in the racial discrimination lawsuit filed by Flores earlier this month, along with Brad Karp of the Paul, Weiss firm, according to NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy. Lynch joined the firm, which also represented the league on concussion issues, in 2019. Lynch led an independent investigation into Syracuse University's Department of Public Safety in the wake of student protests in 2020 over the university's handling of racist incidents on campus.When asked about the NFL hiring Lynch, the legal team representing Flores did not comment.The Dolphins fired Flores in January, and the team announced Mike McDaniel as their next head coach earlier this month. Flores was 24-25 in his three years with the Dolphins, including a 9-8 record this past season when Miami missed qualifying for the playoffs.Read MoreIn his lawsuit against the NFL and three teams — the Dolphins, Denver Broncos and New York Giants — Flores alleges that after the regular season, the Giants interviewed him for their vacant head coaching job under disingenuous circumstances, claiming he had found out three days before his interview that the Giants had already decided to hire Brian