The NFL has prided itself on being the standard bearer for racial justice and equality, yet one explosive lawsuit threatens to tear at the league’s fabric just weeks before its biggest game of the year. On Tuesday, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court that the league exhibits widespread racism in its hiring practices and that he was the victim of this type of behavior by his former team, the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants. He even displayed text messages from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick that shows evidence that he was not going to receive those jobs, and this was before he was scheduled to interview, making the process look like a sham the whole time.

Despite the numerous coaching vacancies around the league this past month, not one has gone to a Black candidate, and as of press time only Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is the only Black head coach. Although other Black candidates such as Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and assistant head coach Duce Staley have told USA Today that they have not experienced the type of racism that Flores claims in the lawsuit, it doesn’t make it any less valid in his case. The Rooney Rule was put in place to ensure that minority candidates were at least given the opportunity to interview for these positions. However, in a league where the dominant face of ownership remains homogenous, the fact remains that those who are coaching these athletes are white.

This is why the lawsuit is so important, because there are many other cases like Flores in the past, yet they didn’t want to speak out against the shield, fearing career retribution. There’s a reason Colin Kaepernick was blackballed out of the league, and it wasn’t because of his statistics. The fact remains that as long as there’s a hierarchy unwilling to give Black coaches an opportunity, we will see more cases like this. Whether Flores wins the suit is not the case. The issue at hand here is fairness, and he has evidence that has not been extended to him. Even worse, he alleges in the lawsuit that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told him to throw games, stating that Ross informed him that he would pay Flores $100,000 for each game lost in 2019 so they could get the top pick in the draft. If this is true, then there needs to be a motion in place to remove Ross, because no good old boy network can overcome the integrity of the games.

As for Flores, he is going to be subject to ridicule and a PR machine destined to ruin his reputation. But if this can lead to subsequent change, then he will and should be viewed for his courageous stance against the most powerful sports league in the world. Change can only come when one stands for what is right.