Growing speculation that Stephen Ross might be forced to sell Dolphins(EDIT: Has succession plan in place to cede controlling interest to Bruce Beal if need be)

[Greg S]

  On 2/15/2022 at 12:39 PM, smuvtalker said:

Personally, I feel like Flores is committing career suicide by pursuing this lawsuit.  I have little doubt that he has some type of evidence to back up his claims. Going up against the giant that is the NFL, even WITH evidence he's fighting an uphill, severely lopsided battle IMO.  And why?  He must really be finished coaching in the NFL, because I find it very difficult to believe another team will give him an opportunity after this.  

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He could interview for a CFB job if his NFL career is over. He actually is a decent coach.

[stuvian]

Billionaires didn't get rich being nice people. There's no question tanking impacts the integrity of the sport. Flores will need a smoking gun and hearsay evidence won't be enough. The fact that this stuff appears to be going on while Kraft and Jones are partners in a sports book could be nuclear.

[Coach Tuesday]

  On 2/15/2022 at 12:26 PM, Wayne Cubed said:

I’m no lawyer but isn’t it possible Ross could just say he was joking? He wasn’t serious about the money, since no money was actually exchanged.

 

Yes, I realize it seems a bit flimsy of a defence.

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According to PFT that already might be his defense - and I wish him luck with it.  If he sticks with it, the “I was just kidding when I tried to bribe you to violate anti-gambling laws” defense is likely to result in jail time for Ross.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

  On 2/15/2022 at 1:27 PM, Coach Tuesday said:

According to PFT that already might be his defense - and I wish him luck with it.  If he sticks with it, the “I was just kidding when I tried to bribe you to violate anti-gambling laws” defense is likely to result in jail time for Ross.

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Don't forget the Golden Rule might factor in:

Whoever's got the gold makes the rules.

[BuffaloBillyG]

Yes, he will sell to Dan Snyder who will then sell the Washington Commandos to Ross.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Move the team to Havana, Cuba 🇨🇺 ... State ownership!  😆 

[Wayne Cubed]

  On 2/15/2022 at 1:27 PM, Coach Tuesday said:

According to PFT that already might be his defense - and I wish him luck with it.  If he sticks with it, the “I was just kidding when I tried to bribe you to violate anti-gambling laws” defense is likely to result in jail time for Ross.

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Would he face jail time as a result of being serious as well? I can’t see any other way out of it… not that I’m defending him, cause Ross is a pretty awful person. 

[Mr. WEO]

  On 2/15/2022 at 6:44 AM, GunnerBill said:

 

His lawyers say he has corroborating witnesses. The question of course is whether they are willing to risk their careers speaking out? The NFL tends to close ranks on perceived trouble makers even if they are justified. 

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If he's got someone who will go under oath, it could be it for Ross.

 

  On 2/15/2022 at 7:08 AM, BruceVilanch said:

awww, poor billionaire.

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Imagine a "punishment" where you are forced to take a 3 billion profit on a 1 billion investment...

[Warcodered]

Ross has to be kicking himself for not planning ahead and having an offensive team name to suddenly decide to change.

  On 2/15/2022 at 12:32 PM, Greg S said:

If the allegations are true then Ross should be removed as owner. For entirely different reasons so should Snyder. I am surprised he is still owner of the Skins, WFT, Commando's or whatever they are calling themselves today.

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They'll always be the WTFs to me.

[mannc]

  On 2/15/2022 at 12:33 PM, Rew said:

So the NFL can subpoena individuals to testify in their investigations?  Come on, it's the NFL not some underground society secretly taking over the world.

 

In order for such a subpoena to happen, Flores' case will have to go to trial (it won't) and his lawyers would have to make a case on the relevancy of such a witness.  The situation with Flores and Miami does not seem to have anything supporting a racial bias claim, unless there were racial undertones to the overall relationship that the witness could testify to. The actual offer to pay him per loss is more of a character framing on Ross and does little to support his suit.

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It’s a lawsuit, in federal court.  Flores’s lawyers can subpoena witnesses to testify under oath as part of discovery. The case doesn’t have to go to trial for that to happen. 

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

Consider the byline, the king of rumor and speculation, don’t think he has ever broken a story, just reports from others and adds his opinion as if fact.

[Florida Bills Fanatic]

This has been a subject of local sports talk radio since the story broke.  It is believed that there is more than one witness from more than one incident involving Ross.  If any of this is true, the NFL is in a really bad position.  With their financial involvement in the sports betting industry, they could be looking at lawsuits seeking recovery of funds lost on bets involving Miami games.  The feds could get involved under racketeering statutes with people looking at jail time.  This could also become the final straw that leads Congress to eliminate the monopoly exemptions for the league.

 

When you look at Miami in conjunction with the claims of Jackson in Cleveland and the mess in Washington, the NFL has some serious work to do to clean up the league.  It will be interesting to see whether the league actually holds these owners to the rules contained in their ownership agreements.

[Nextmanup]

  On 2/15/2022 at 6:37 AM, BornAgainBillsFan said:

Flores better have proof. If not, he might want to start making some calls to FBS schools for any job openings.

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His NFL career is already over.  That's a huge part of why his actions are so brave.

 

He's not looking to make a few bucks, he's looking to right some wrongs.

 

🙄

[Don Otreply]

  On 2/15/2022 at 6:44 AM, GunnerBill said:

 

His lawyers say he has corroborating witnesses. The question of course is whether they are willing to risk their careers speaking out? The NFL tends to close ranks on perceived trouble makers even if they are justified. 

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That’s the standard corporate MO when a whistle blower lifts the curtain for all to see what is actually going on, no surprise there. The NFL is just another greedy corporation when it comes right down to it. 

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

  On 2/15/2022 at 2:58 PM, mannc said:

It’s a lawsuit, in federal court.  Flores’s lawyers can subpoena witnesses to testify under oath as part of discovery. The case doesn’t have to go to trial for that to happen. 

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"I plead the fifth"

 

or

 

"I do not recall that conversation"

[Don Otreply]

With a couple of owners currently running a sports gambling outfit…, what could possibly go wrong with that??

 

this stuff has been going on for a long time, it should be of no surprise to anyone that the NFL owners group manipulates the corporation they are all partners in, I’m mean how naïve are people??? 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

  On 2/15/2022 at 6:26 AM, Big Turk said:

Apparently many think the investigation will find Flores claims are true that he offered him $100K per loss.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/storm-clouds-gather-stephen-ross-194014685.html

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Let's put the original report out there.  It's Florio, who makes his living by generating "clicks", therefore goes in for a lot of speculation

 

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/02/14/storm-clouds-gather-for-stephen-ross/

 

  Quote

Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores has accused Ross of offering $100,000 per loss in 2019, in order to improve the team’s draft position in 2020. As mentioned during Sunday’s Super Bowl pregame show, there’s a belief that the league’s investigation will conclude that Ross did indeed make the offer.

Ross apparently knows it.

 

Already, there’s a sense emerging that Ross will claim he was joking. Beyond the fact that it’s one of those jokes with no obvious punchline, it’s also a topic on which joking probably shouldn’t occur, like joking about having a bomb on an airplane.

 

As one source opined, “I doubt Roger [Goodell] will have any sympathy for that defense.”

 

If the allegations are proven, it won’t be good for Ross. Already, NFL.com is pushing the idea that Ross could lose his team over it. NFL.com, which is owned and operated by the NFL.

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[Augie]

  On 2/15/2022 at 12:26 PM, Wayne Cubed said:

I’m no lawyer but isn’t it possible Ross could just say he was joking? He wasn’t serious about the money, since no money was actually exchanged.

 

Yes, I realize it seems a bit flimsy of a defence.

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This is what Dan Patrick has been saying the defense will be. “I was totally kidding!”

 

It’s flimsy indeed, but difficult to prove untrue. If money changed hands, they both should be banished. With no proof, it will be interesting to see how aggressively the league will go after this. 

[Lfod]

I think a few things like a text, email or even a voice recording would give the accusations some strength but I don't think I would want to go to battle with just a few witnesses and I don't think it will be enough in my opinion and people looking into it will want more than witness testimony to take action on those accusations I believe. 

[mannc]

  On 2/15/2022 at 3:30 PM, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

 

"I plead the fifth"

 

or

 

"I do not recall that conversation"

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Highly unlikely anyone would or could “plead the fifth” in such a case.  And you’re just assuming witnesses will lie under oath…to protect an ass***e like Ross?

  On 2/15/2022 at 3:54 PM, Lfod said:

I think a few things like a text, email or even a voice recording would give the accusations some strength but I don't think I would want to go to battle with just a few witnesses and I don't think it will be enough in my opinion and people looking into it will want more than witness testimony to take action on those accusations I believe. 

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All it would take is one witness with some credibility saying that they heard Ross say it…or a text or email from Ross, and he’s cooked.