The Denver Broncos were one of the teams that were identified in Brian Flores' bombshell lawsuit against the NFL and a handful of teams. Flores' camp alleges that Broncos executives came into his head coach interview hungover from the previous night and that the only reason they interviewed him was because of the Rooney Rule.
The Broncos have now responded to Flores' accusations and they have done so in a very strong way. In an official statement, Denver vehemently denied Flores' claims (h/t Jason Palmer of the NFL Network):
Statement from the #Broncos
“The allegations from Brian Flores directed toward the Denver Broncos in today’s court filing are blatantly false." pic.twitter.com/nyTA4kHtjC
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) February 1, 2022
Flores is claiming that the only reason the Broncos interviewed him was in order for them to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview at least two minority candidates for the head coaching position.
According to their statement, the Broncos are claiming that Flores' claims are “blatantly false.” The team provided the details of the meeting in question as they presented evidence to prove that the team's executives were completely serious about the sit-down and that they were not hungover during the meeting.
The aforementioned interview took place on January 5, 2019. Five days later, the Broncos announced that they had decided to hire Vic Fangio as their head coach.
The Broncos aren't the only team that has been dragged into Flores' lawsuit. The New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins have also been accused of practicing racial discrimination in their respective hiring processes.
