NFL hires firm of former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to help handle Brian Flores lawsuit

NEW YORK — The NFL has hired a law firm that includes former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to defend it and its teams in Brian Flores' race discrimination lawsuit.

Lynch, the attorney general in the latter part of the Obama administration, will work with Brad Karp, chairman at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison. Karp previously has worked for the league in concussion cases.

Flores, who is Black, was fired as Miami's coach last month despite back-to-back winning seasons. He named the league and three teams — the Dolphins, Denver Broncos and New York Giants — in a class-action lawsuit earlier this month, alleging unfair hiring practices in the NFL.

After the lawsuit was filed, the league said it would defend itself against claims it called «without merit.» The Dolphins, Broncos and Giants also denied Flores' allegations.

Soon after, in a memo to the 32 clubs, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said:

«We understand the concerns expressed by coach Flores and others.… While the legal process moves forward, we will not wait to reassess and modify our strategies to ensure that they are consistent with our values and longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.»

Former Miami coach Brian Flores has sued the NFL and 3 teams — the Dolphins, Giants and Broncos — alleging in part racism in hiring practices. Among his allegations: Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in 2019 to help with the team's draft position and that the Giants and Broncos conducted «sham» in-person interviews with him to comply with the Rooney Rule. The full lawsuit can be found here.

During his annual Super Bowl news conference, when Goodell frequently was grilled about diversity in the NFL and the Flores' case, the