The NFL has suspended Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross and stripped two draft picks after an investigator found the team violated the league’s anti-tampering policy by luring quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton to Miami. .
At the same time, the investigator, former U.S. attorney Mary Jo White, found no evidence that Ross had ordered the team’s former coach, Brian Flores, to deliberately lose games to improve his standing in the college draw, a claim Flores made in a statement. a federal lawsuit in February, a month after the Dolphins fired him.
White determined that Ross’s offer to pay Flores $100,000 for every game the Dolphins lost — one of the most inflammatory claims in his lawsuit — “was not intended or construed as a serious offer, nor was the subject raised. pursued by mr. Ross. or anyone else at the club.”
However, as a result of the tampering charge, the Dolphins will lose their first round selection in 2023 and their third round in 2024. Ross will be suspended until October 17. He will not be allowed into the team’s facility and may not represent the club at any team or competition event. He will be indefinitely removed from all competition commissions and must pay a $1.5 million fine. Ross has served on three powerful committees: media, finance and gambling.
In a statement, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said White had found tampering violations “of unprecedented magnitude and seriousness.” He added: “I know of no previous instance where property was so directly involved in the violations.”
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Deshaun Watson’s suspension. The quarterback, who was accused by more than two dozen women of sexual misconduct during massage treatments, was suspended for six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Two Texas grand juries declined to criminally indict Watson, who later reached settlements in all but one of the 24 lawsuits against him. But a Times investigation showed that Watson may have exhibited more questionable behavior than previously known.
The findings came after a six-month investigation that began after Flores filed his charges. It contained allegations that the league and its teams had staged mock interviews with Flores and other colored coaches to circumvent the rules that require teams to interview a diverse set of candidates for top positions.
Flores quoted text messages from New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick, who appeared to be congratulating Flores on getting the Giants coaching job, which he had yet to interview. Flores responded by asking if Belichick had intended the message for another Brian — Brian Daboll — and Belichick acknowledged that he had. Daboll, who is white, was given the position with the Giants, leading Flores to conclude that the Giants made their decision before Flores was even interviewed.
Flores’s lawsuit, which is still pending, also included allegations against Ross, who fired Flores after the 2021 season after three years as the head coach of the Dolphins. Flores alleged that Ross tried to bribe him to lose matches and circumvented the league’s ban on talking to other players and coaches under contract without their teams’ permission.
The league discovered that the Dolphins had unauthorized communications with Brady during the 2019 and post-season season while he was playing for the Patriots. That communication would be “numerous and detailed”. The Dolphins were found to have had inappropriate contact with Brady and his agent again in the 2021 season while he was playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including discussions about Brady becoming a partner with the Dolphins.
The Dolphins were also found to have inappropriately tried to lure Payton to become coach of the team in January while he was still coach of the New Orleans Saints.
“With regard to tampering, I strongly disagree with the conclusions and the penalty,” Ross said in a statement. “However, I will accept the outcome because the most important thing is that there is no distraction for our team as we start an exciting and winning season.”
Numerous owners have been fined by the NFL over the years, although suspensions are less common. Among them were Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. of the San Francisco 49ers, who was suspended for the 1999 season after pleading guilty to a felony related to Louisiana riverboat casino licenses, and Jim Irsay of the Indianapolis Colts, who was suspended for six games. in 2014 after a guilty plea for drink-driving.
Last year, the NFL fined the Washington Football Team $10 million after an investigation into a club culture of sexual harassment. The owner, Daniel Snyder, has retired from the day-to-day running of the club until mid-October.
Victor Mather reporting contributed.
