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The NFL suspended and fined Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and stripped the team of two draft picks Tuesday for violating league policies governing game integrity. The penalties are the result of the findings of an investigation that arose out of allegations of game-fixing and game-fixing made in the racial discrimination lawsuit former Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed in February.
The league concluded that the Dolphins did not intentionally attempt to forfeit games during the 2019 season in an attempt to improve their position in the 2020 NFL draft. But Ross and the Dolphins were found to have committed tampering violations involving the quarterback Tom Brady, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the agent of former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton.
The NFL suspended Ross until October 17, removed him from all league committees and fined him $1.5 million. The Dolphins forfeit their first-round pick in next year’s NFL draft and a third-round pick in 2024, the league said.
Mary Jo White to lead NFL investigation into dolphin tanking allegations
“Investigators found tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a written statement. “I know of no prior case of a team violating the ban on handling both a head coach and a star player, to the potential detriment of several other clubs, over a period of several years. Likewise, I know of no instance previous in which the property was so directly involved in the infringements”.
Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, oversaw the investigation, which began after Flores filed her lawsuit on Feb. 1. In it, she accused Ross of offering her $100,000. for loss during the 2019 season in an effort to secure the top draft pick the following spring.
“The independent investigation cleared our organization of any issues related to the tank and all of Brian Flores[’s] other allegations,” Ross said in a statement released Tuesday by the Dolphins. “As I have said all along, these allegations were false, malicious and defamatory, and that matter has been resolved. Regarding manipulation, I strongly disagree with the conclusions and the punishment. However, I will accept the result because the most important thing is that there are no distractions for our team as we begin an exciting and winning season.”
The investigation found that the Dolphins did not intentionally forfeit games during the 2019 season and that Ross’ $100,000 offer “was not intended to be a serious offer, nor was the matter addressed in any way by Mr. Ross or anyone else in the club.”
“Every club is expected to make a good faith effort to win every game,” Goodell said. “The integrity of the game, and the public’s trust in professional football, demand no less. An owner or senior executive must understand the weight of their words and the risk that a comment will be taken seriously and acted upon, even if that is not the intention or expectation.”
The Dolphins finished 5-11 in 2019 and used the No. 5 pick in the 2020 draft on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Quarterback Joe Burrow went first in that draft, to the Cincinnati Bengals.
“The comments made by Mr. Ross did not affect Coach Flores’ commitment to winning and the Dolphins competing to win every game,” Goodell said. “Coach Flores is to be commended for not allowing any comments about the relative importance of draft position to affect his commitment to winning throughout the season.”
NFL plans to investigate Brian Flores tank, altering allegations against Dolphins
The Dolphins fired Flores in January. He is now a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Flores said in a statement released Tuesday by his attorneys that he was “grateful that the NFL investigator found my factual allegations against Stephen Ross to be true” but “disappointed that the investigator downplayed” those allegations.
“While the investigator found that the Dolphins had engaged in impermissible manipulation of ‘unprecedented scope and severity,’ Mr. Ross will avoid any significant consequences,” Flores said. “There is nothing more important in football itself than the integrity of the game. When the integrity of the game is called into question, the fans suffer and football suffers.”
The NFL’s investigation found the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Brady in 2019 and 2020 while he was under contract with the New England Patriots. The team also had impermissible communications with Brady and his agent, whom the league did not identify by name, during and after the 2021 season while he was under contract with the Buccaneers.
According to the investigation, discussions with Brady and his agent “focused on Mr. Brady becoming a managing partner of the Dolphins and possibly serving as a football executive, although at times they also included the possibility that he would play for the Dolphins.”
Flores’ lawsuit stated that Ross began pressuring Flores to “recruit an outstanding quarterback in violation of the league’s tampering rules” after the 2019 season. Flores refused, but was invited in the winter of 2020 to meet Ross on a yacht for lunch. Ross then told Flores, according to Flores’ lawsuit, “that the standout quarterback was ‘comfortably’ arriving at the marina.” Flores refused to participate in the meeting and left the yacht, his lawsuit says.
According to the NFL, the Dolphins also had impermissible communications in January 2022 with agent Don Yee about Payton becoming Miami’s coach, without receiving permission from the Saints. Payton left the Saints after last season.
Yee, who also represents Brady, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The NFL also fined Dolphins general partner and vice president Bruce Beal $500,000 and barred him from attending league meetings through the 2022 season for his role in communications with Brady. Ross cannot attend any league meetings until next spring. He cannot be at Dolphins facilities during his suspension.
“The punishment announced today is clearly inappropriate and disheartening,” Flores’ attorneys, Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis, said in a joint statement. “Unfortunately, it’s clear that the NFL can’t control itself, so we look forward to continuing to push the legal process forward, prove all of Brian’s claims … and force real change on the NFL.”
White is also conducting the NFL’s ongoing investigation into the latest allegations against the Washington Chiefs and their owner, Daniel Snyder.