Unsealed Korn Ferry memo draws discrimination allegations from Brian Flores’s lawyers

A disputed hiring assessment

A Korn Ferry assessment of Brian Flores prepared for a Las Vegas Raiders head-coaching search became public on October 13, according to Front Office Sports. Flores’s lawyers say the document supports their allegations of racial discrimination and retaliation in NFL hiring. Those are the lawyers’ claims about the memo, rather than findings that the league or a team violated the law. ^[1]

The outlet describes a one-page document listing six favorable points and seven unfavorable ones. Among the statements drawing criticism is a reference to Flores’s upbringing in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and his ability to present himself professionally. His lawyer Michael Willemin told Front Office Sports that the framing draws on racial stereotypes. ^[1]

How the filings became public

An October 8 order in the Southern District of New York supplies the procedural background. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave noted that the court had denied Korn Ferry’s request to maintain the relevant exhibit under seal in a September 23 opinion. That earlier opinion had itself temporarily remained sealed because of confidentiality designations in the filings. ^[2]

The order says the parties had been given until October 7 to object or seek an extension. Neither step had occurred by the time of the October 8 order. Cave therefore directed the clerk to unseal the identified documents, including the earlier opinion. The decision addressed public access to filings; it was not a judgment resolving the discrimination allegations. ^[2]

The case continues

Front Office Sports reports that Flores filed the lawsuit in February 2022 and that Steve Wilks and Ray Horton later joined as plaintiffs. The report says litigation over court proceedings versus arbitration occupied much of the intervening period. Decisions on motions to dismiss remain a subsequent legal milestone, separate from the publication of this recruiting document. ^[1]