Stephen Ross chose a late hour to address Brian Flores’ claims about being offered money to lose games on purpose.
Late on Wednesday, the owner of the Miami Dolphins issued a strong statement calling Flores’ accusations “false, malicious, and defamatory.” He also declared his intention to fully cooperate with the NFL’s investigation.
According to the lawsuit filed by Flores’ representatives, the tension leading to Flores’ firing began back in 2019 when Ross allegedly offered $100,000 for each Dolphins loss to boost their draft position.
Miami ultimately ended the season at 5-11, and Flores claimed Grier informed him that Ross was displeased with the team’s success impacting their draft selection chances.
The legal action also mentions Ross’ insistence on securing an unidentified “leading quarterback,” which went against NFL regulations:
“After the 2019 season, Ross started pressuring Flores to recruit a top quarterback, breaching League tampering rules. Despite the pressure, Flores consistently rejected these improper demands. In early 2020, Ross invited Flores to a yacht lunch. On arrival, Ross informed Flores of the quarterback’s ‘coincidental’ presence at the marina. Evidently, Ross had engineered a staged meeting between Flores and the quarterback. Flores declined the meeting and promptly departed. Subsequently, Flores was treated unfavorably and depicted as uncooperative and difficult.”
