Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and other teams on Thursday, and two NFL coaches joined him.

Steve Wilks is a veteran coach who served as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach for the 2018 season until being fired and replaced by Kliff Kingsbury. In a complaint acquired by Fox News Digital, Wilks claimed he was treated as a “bridge coach” and didn’t get enough chances to succeed.

Go Ad-Free, Get Exclusive Shows and Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

“When Coach Flores filed this action, I knew I owed it to myself and to all Black NFL coaches and aspiring coaches to stand with him,” Wilks said in a statement. “This lawsuit has shed further important light on a problem that we all know exists, but that too few are willing to confront. Black coaches and candidates should have the same opportunities to get hired and keep their jobs as White coaches and candidates. That is not currently the case, and I look forward to working with coach Flores and coach Horton to ensure that the aspiration of racial equality in the NFL becomes a reality.”

Another long-time coach who has joined the suit is Ray Horton. When he interviewed for the Tennessee Titans head coaching job in 2016, he said he was subjected to a “sham” interview process. According to Horton’s lawsuit, the Titans only interviewed him to fulfill the Rooney Rule obligation.

Mike Mularkey was eventually appointed to the position. Mularkey made comments concerning the interview process in 2020, according to the lawsuit.

“[T]old me I was going to be the head coach in 2016, before they went through the Rooney Rule,” Mularkey said during a Steelers  Podcast. “And so I sat there knowing I was the head coach in 2016, as they went through this fake hiring process knowing, knowing a lot of the coaches that they were interviewing, knowing how much they prepared to go through those interviews, knowing that everything they could do and they had no chance to get that job.”

Go Ad-Free, Get Exclusive Shows and Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

“I am proud to stand with coach Flores and coach Wilks in combating the systemic discrimination which has plagued the NFL for far too long,” Horton  remark. “When I learned from coach Mularkey’s statements that my head coach interview with the Titans was a sham, I was devastated and humiliated. By joining this case, I am hoping to turn that experience into a positive and make lasting change and create true equal opportunity in the future.”

Wilks and Horton are both African-American. Mularkey is a white person.

Wilks has been in the NFL since 2006, when he joined the Chicago Bears as a defensive backs coach, and has subsequently worked for four other clubs. He is now the Carolina Panthers’ defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach.

Former NFL player Horton has been coaching in the league since 1994. In 2019, he was the defensive backs coach for the Washington Redskins. From 2014 to 2015, he was the Titans’ defensive coordinator.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Cardinals defended their choice to release Wilks.

“The decisions we made after the 2018 season were very difficult ones. But as we said at the time, they were entirely driven by what was in the best interests of our organization and necessary for team improvement. We are confident that the facts reflect that and demonstrate that these allegations are untrue,” the statement added.

The Titans stated that no decision would be made until all of the interviews had been finished.

“Our 2016 head coach search was a thoughtful and competitive process fully in keeping with NFL guidelines and our own organizational values. Four talented individuals, two of whom were varied prospects, were interviewed in-depth in person. No decision was made, and no decision was communicated, prior to the completion of all interviews. While we are proud of Our Commitment to Diversity, we are dedicated to continued growth as an organization to foster diversity and inclusion in our workplace and community.”

In February, Flores filed a lawsuit accusing the NFL, the Miami Dolphins, the New York Giants, and the Denver Broncos of racial discrimination. The league, as well as the teams involved, have all refuted the allegations. Wilks and Horton were praised by the former coach for joining him.