Loretta Lynch, the first Black female U.S. attorney general, will represent the NFL in a recently filed racial discrimination lawsuit, according to multiple reports.
Lynch, who led the Department of Justice under President Barack Obama after a confirmation process many decried as racist, works with the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. The NFL hired the firm to defend the league in a lawsuit filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores.
The NFL’s choice to hire Lynch is an ironic — if not completely mischievous — play.
Flores filed a racial discrimination lawsuit earlier this month, alleging he’d been encouraged to lose games and break the NFL’s tampering rules in order to recruit players while coaching the Dolphins. He also claimed the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos previously interviewed him for a head coaching role simply to comply with the Rooney Rule, an NFL policy requiring teams to interview external, minority candidates when hiring a new head coach or a general manager. (The NFL, Dolphins, Giants and Broncos have denied the allegations.)
The NFL’s choice to hire Lynch is an ironic — if not completely mischievous — play.
As a nominee to become the first Black female U.S. attorney general, she faced disparate treatment. Due to white, Republican obstruction, she faced a historically long confirmation process that many attributed to her being a Black woman.
Lynch is a highly respected voice in legal circles; however, her participation in this case is part of a trend for the NFL: When the league stands accused of racist misconduct, it eagerly looks to Black voices willing to dispel the narrative and clean up its mess.