The Rule at the Center of the N.F.L. Discrimination Lawsuit

<p>As the N.F.L. season comes to a close, we’re looking at a class-action lawsuit that Brian Flores, a former head coach of the Miami Dolphins, has filed against the league.</p><p>At the heart of the case is the Rooney Rule, a policy the league implemented two decades ago that has since been adopted across corporate America.</p><p>We explore the lawsuit and the Rooney Rule, and we hear from Cyrus Mehri, a civil rights lawyer who helped create the policy.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/ken-belson?smid=pc-thedaily">Ken Belson</a>, a reporter covering the N.F.L. for The New York Times.</p><p>Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at <a href="mailto:thedaily@nytimes.com">thedaily@nytimes.com</a>. You can find more information and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/podcasts/daily-memorial-covid.html"> specific instructions here</a>.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Brian Flores has sued the N.F.L. and its 32 teams alleging that<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/01/sports/football/brian-flores-giants-discrimination-lawsuit.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> they discriminated against him and other Black coaches</a> in their hiring practices.</li><li>After Mr. Flores’s lawsuit and a cycle in which only two nonwhite head coaches were hired, the Rooney Rule, the N.F.L.’s biggest diversity initiative, is facing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/sports/rooney-rule-nfl-coaches.html?smid=pc-thedaily">new scrutiny</a>.</li><li>Those close to Mr. Flores say his lawsuit is in keeping with<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/sports/football/brian-flores-discrimination-lawsuit-nfl-dolphins-giants.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> the sense of moral rectitude instilled in him by his mother</a> as he grew up in a Brooklyn housing project.</li></ul><p>Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the ne