Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday in an attempt to do what he alleges the National Football League has failed to do: break down racial barriers in the hiring process.

Flores is suing the NFL and each of its franchises for racial discrimination.

The complaint comes after Flores, who is Black, alleges his interview with the New York Giants was a “sham” because he was notified in a text exchange with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick before the meeting that former Buffalo Bills assistant Brian Daboll had already landed the job. He still went through the interview.

Explosive Allegations

Flores, whose lawyers note the lawsuit was filed on the first day of Black History Month, made other allegations:

• Flores described the interview process with the Denver Broncos in 2019 where he claimed then-general manager John Elway and others “showed up an hour late to the interview … and it was obvious that they had been drinking heavily the night before.”
• During his first season in Miami, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross allegedly told Flores that “he would pay him $100,000 for every loss” in an effort to improve the team’s draft position.
• Flores also alleges that Ross tried to circumvent NFL tampering rules by setting up a meeting with “a prominent quarterback.” A source confirmed to Front Office Sports that Tom Brady was that quarterback.

The Dolphins, who won eight of their final nine games in the 2021 season, fired Flores a day after the season ended.

The NFL released a statement in response to Flores’ claims, stating they “are without merit.”

Google parent Alphabet ended 2021 on a high note, with $75.3 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, as it looks to challenge Apple in the fitness space.

The impressive sum represented a 32% year-over-year increase. The quarter capped a year that saw the tech giant’s revenue grow to $257.6 billion, up 41% from 2020.

• Alphabet banked $20.6 billion in net income in Q4 and $76 billion on the year.
• In December, Alphabet reached a deal with Disney to keep ESPN, ABC, and other Disney-owned channels on YouTube TV, after contentious negotiations between the two sides.
• The company also announced a 20-for-one stock split, pending shareholder approval. 

Fitness Play Coming?

Google TV, a platform enabled on various smart TVs and other devices, could soon incorporate fitness capabilities that integrate with data from wearables, not unlike the pairing of Apple Watch and Apple Fitness+. 

Google touted 110 million active devices with Android TV, the platform underlying Google TV, as of last month.

The company is expected to launch its first in-house smartwatch with fitness tracking features later this year. 

Alphabet telegraphed its move into fitness-tracking wearables with the acquisition of Fitbit, completed in January 2021 for a reported $2.1 billion. The deal is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over privacy issues.

Electronic Arts reported its third-quarter earnings and the results fell short of expectations.

The “Madden” and “FIFA” publisher generated $1.7 billion in revenue in fiscal Q3, compared to $1.6 billion for the same period the year prior. Despite the growth, EA missed Wall Street estimates of $1.81 billion in quarterly revenue, according to Refinitiv.

The California-based company posted record net bookings of $2.58 billion during the quarter, but missed estimates by $80 million.

Following the underwhelming results, EA has lowered its net bookings forecast for FY2022 to $7.5 billion, down from a previous target of $7.6 billion.

• EA’s live services segment generated $1.1 billion in revenue in fiscal Q3, while its full game segment posted $616 million in revenue.
• The company reported that players are spending almost 20% more time playing EA titles in FY2022 compared to the previous financial year.

EA continues to build its gaming empire through acquisitions. Last year, it acquired racing game developer Codemasters, publisher Glu Mobile, and mobile game studio Playdemic.

Another Bump in the Road

FIFA is ending its long-term exclusive partnership with EA as it looks to widen its gaming and esports portfolio. The two parties first struck a deal in 1993 that will expire in 2022.

The “FIFA” series is estimated to be worth more than $2 billion annually to EA.

McLaren is reportedly in talks with the Mercedes EQ Formula E team to establish a “super team.” The reports follow the latter’s previous announcement that they’d be exiting the series at the end of the year.

Mercedes is interested in continuing in some capacity since Gen3 cars — which will reportedly be the world’s most efficient racing cars — debut this spring, but would need a registered manufacturer.

Mercedes EQ team principal Ian James told The Race, “It’s very much positive that we will be playing our part in Gen3.”

Both teams have a history with Formula E.

• Mercedes EQ’s Nyck de Vries won the first Formula E race of the season on Jan. 28 at the Diriyah street course in Saudi Arabia.
• Ever since Gen2 cars were introduced in 2018, McLaren has supplied Formula E’s batteries.

The spending level for teams in Season 9 and 10 will be $14.6 million each season.

Nothing is confirmed, but McLaren CEO Zak Brown said any Formula E decisions would likely be made by the end of the month.

Rise of Electric Vehicles

McLaren’s team, which currently races in Formula 1 and IndyCar, will join the all-electric Extreme E Championship this year and has expressed interest in starting its own Formula E team. Formula E is a minority shareholder in Extreme E.

Last year, Formula E’s race viewership increased 125% in key overseas markets. In 2019, it turned a profit for the first time, recording $220.5 million in revenue.