Brian Flores Opens up About 'Sham' NFL Interview

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Black History Month started out with a bang for sports fans Tuesday when former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores sued the NFL, the New York Giants, the Dolphins and Denver Broncos for racial discrimination.

Now he is opening up about his dispute with the league and some of the incendiary charges leveled in his bombshell lawsuit.

Asked how it made him feel knowing that he was walking into an interview where a decision might have already been made during an appearance on “CBS Mornings” Wednesday, Flores said, “It was a range of emotions. Humiliation. Disbelief. Anger. I worked so hard to get where I am in football to become a head coach. To go in on what was a sham interview, I was hurt.”

Former #Dolphins HC Brian Flores on @CBSMornings describing his interactions and feelings before his interview with the #Giants for the head coach job. pic.twitter.com/1RnVxn0VUK

— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 2, 2022

Flores walked into the interview with an idea that it was just a cursory attempt to respect the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior operation positions, thanks to a damning text exchange with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick that was the catalyst for the lawsuit that states that the league "remains rife with racism" and that "in certain critical ways, the NFL is racially segregated and is managed much like a plantation."

Belichick accidentally texted him to congratulate him on the NY Giants job thinking he was Brian Daboll. The lawsuit presents text messages of Belichick sending congratulations to Flores for landing the Giants job on Jan. 24. That text was sent two days prior to Flores interviewing for the job.

After Flores initially appeared confused by the text message, he asked Belichick, “Coach, are you talking to Brian Flores or Brian Daboll. Just making sure.”

Belichick replied: “Sorry – I f—ed this up. I double checked & I misread the text. I think they are naming Daboll. I’m sorry about that. BB”

According to the lawsuit, Flores was then "forced to sit through a dinner with Joe Schoen, the Giant’s [sic] new General Manager, knowing that the Giants had already selected Mr. Daboll. Much worse, on Thursday, January 27, 2022, Mr. Flores had to give an extensive interview for a job that he already knew he would not get — an interview that was held for no reason other than for the Giants to demonstrate falsely to the League Commissioner Roger Goodell and the public at large that it was in compliance with the Rooney Rule.”

Daboll was hired as the Giants head coach on Jan. 28.

The Giants responded on Tuesday after being named in the lawsuit.

“We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll,” the team said in a statement. “We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact of the matter is, Brain Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach."

Read the entire lawsuit here.

India Arie Joins Exodus From Spotify

Photo credit: Benedict Evans

Neo-soul artist India Arie joined a growing list of prominent defectors from the Spotify streaming music platform on Monday.

The artist, who has been nominated for 23 Grammys and taken home four awards over the course of her lauded career, took to Instagram to declare her reasons for leaving.

“Neil Young opened a door that I MUST walk through,” Arie wrote, referencing the legendary Canadian-American singer and songwriter leaving Spotify last week because of Joe Rogan continuing to share vaccine misinformation on "The Joe Rogan Experience," Spotify's most popular podcast of 2021.

Young, in a since-deleted open letter to his management team and record label demanding they remove his music from Spotify, wrote, “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them. Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule."

The artist received his wish, and despite an apology from Rogan and assurances by Spotify that the misinformation spread on its podcasts would be debunked on its own popular science program, other musicians have continued to follow his lead.

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Musicians Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren and Graham Nash are among the most prominent, along with bestselling author Brené Brown — who recently signed an exclusive deal with the platform.

Rogan and his guests' bad takes on science, however, were not the only reason Arie chose to remove her catalog. She cited the host's controversial comments on race in her post.

 

“I believe in freedom of speech. However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons other than his Covid interviews. For me, it’s also his language around race,” Arie wrote. “What I am talking about is respect — who gets it and who doesn’t. Paying musicians a fraction of a penny? And him $100 [million]? This shows the type of company they are and the company that they keep,” she continued. “I’m tired.”

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Three Men Arrested in Raid of NBA YoungBoy's Houston Residence

Courtesy Atlantic Records

The artist formerly known as Kentrell DeSean Gaulden continues to be a legal lightning rod.

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, born rapper better known by his stage name NBA YoungBoy is currently under house arrest in Utah awaiting trial for weapons-related charges. 

Unfortunately, being monitored by the police and in another state entirely has not kept his name out of the headlines.

Tuesday, three men were arrested, and a cache of weapons was found when authorities raided a house belonging to the rapper in Houston, which TMZ reports is where his mother resides.

According to Harris County Sheriff’s Office Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland, the three suspects were arrested on warrants related to a shooting incident that took place in November 2021.

During the incident in November a man get shot multiple times which resulted in "permanent and life-altering injuries," according to Gilliland:

"Investigators were called to the 700 block of Barren Springs after a male complainant was shot multiple times by the three. Leads were developed and the evidence was collected."

ROYMELLO WILLIAMS                       DARYL BROWN                        CARLEON GAILEN

 

The three men arrested, Carleon Gallien, Roymello Williams, and Daryl Brown, are alleged to have committed the attack. The Harris County District Attorney's Office has charged Gallien with two counts of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, Williams with aggravated robbery and aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, and Brown with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury.

According to TMZ, while neither NBA YoungBoy nor his mother were there, the men who were arrested were said to be associates of the rapper by police. The celebrity news site also said that the weapons seized included AR-15s, pistols and long guns.

It’s just the latest in a long list of legal run-ins for the 22-year-old artist who released six independent mix tapes before hitting it big with his major labor debut for Atlantic Records in 2018. His first studio album “Until Death Call My Name” peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, anchored by the lead single “Outside Today.”

In the following years, despite spending much of the time incarcerated, he followed up with two No. 1 albums. “Top” in 2020 and 2021’s “Sincerely, Kentrell” — which was released from prison and made him the third artist besides Tupac and Lil Wayne to have a chart-topping album while incarcerated and cemented his position in the rap pantheon.

He was released from jail last October after serving seven months on a $1.5 million bail, posting a $500,000 bond. Then quickly followed his release with his 17th mixtape “Colors” which was followed by an announcement from his producer Jason “Cheese” Goldberg that YoungBoy would be taking a break from music.

PSA: A select few songs probably (maybe) will drop from now until then but Top will not be seen or heard from into his album approximately #6months from now,” Goldberg wrote on Instagram. “We have some amazing songs for you thank you for everything #HealingTime #RockPeace #ForeverBro.

 

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