The serious allegations of former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores may place the NFL in a bad spot.
While it’s expected that the league came to the defense of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, the alleged tank job the team wanted him to facilitate puts the game’s integrity in jeopardy.
It will fuel conspiracy theorists to throw out claims that the league already knows the outcome before the games happen.
Incentivizing losing won’t be an excellent image to players who spend countless hours improving themselves in hopes of winning every Sunday.
As I mention at end, I spoke with a witness who said he heard Steve Ross offer Brian Flores 100K for every 2019 loss.
Flores’ team says they have corroborating evidence including messages from GM Chris Grier. IF proven, integrity of game in Q. Dolphins denied the allegations. https://t.co/KnIPjHMhjb
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) February 2, 2022
Flores is already exposing himself as the fall guy from what looks like a systematic manipulation of affecting the game’s outcome.
Unfortunately, heroes sacrifice so much for everybody’s welfare.
This issue couldn’t have come at a worse possible time.
But for the league to save face, they cannot be silent and must conduct an unbiased investigation.
Yet even that might be difficult given the oversight of the 32 team owners.
No One Wins In Tanking
There’s some merit in losing games in hopes of getting a better draft position next year.
However, even this strategy isn’t fail-proof because hot prospects might not translate their game to dominate in the big leagues.
Even if the player they drafted turned out to be great, he can only affect the game so much if the people around him are terrible.
Likewise, tanking can degrade player morale and lead team sponsors to pull out because they’re not reaping the rewards.
Brian Flores, as you stand, we stand with you. As you fight, we fight with you. As you speak truth, we speak truth with you.
— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@RevDrBarber) February 2, 2022
Heads will also roll after a disappointing season, and the lack of continuity may harm the team’s momentum.
Losing is a regular occurrence in the NFL, but at least go down swinging, unlike what Ross wanted.
Allegedly offering Flores $100,000 for every game lost is a two-edged sword yielded by the Dolphins owner.
He will be richer if he accepts the deal, but he will forever carry the guilt of leading his team to defeat.
“Not all firings are equal. Brian Flores can do better.”
— @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/ZCrgTB42nV
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) January 10, 2022
If he lost a ton of games, the front office would have justification to get rid of him because he’s not good at his job.
Flores is laying his future on the line with his bold act, but it’s a necessary move to put this ongoing concern in the spotlight.
There might be more stories from teams who actively tried to lose, leading to unjustly fired personnel.
The League Must Penalize Tanking
Despite having many games on their schedule, Major League Baseball found out that a team employed a sophisticated system of stealing opponents’ signs.
Therefore, the NFL has no excuse not to discover the fishy details from teams who tanked their season.
The league must treat tanking as a major offense corresponding to harsh penalties.
The NFL will investigate the specific allegations that Brian Flores has made concerning Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offering him $100,000 per-loss incentives in 2019 to gain a better draft position, a league source said. Other potential rules violations also will be investigated.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) February 2, 2022
While every tanking incident the NFL will find out is already in the past, those teams must still be held accountable by losing draft picks or paying hefty fines.
Otherwise, they’re exposing themselves as a league that can’t be trusted.
The NFL cannot sweep this matter under the rug.
They must develop a concrete plan of action to weed out this concern.
NEXT: Is Patrick Mahomes Still A Legitimate Superstar?