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Thousands of U.S. Troops Heading to Eastern Europe; Pfizer Requests Vaccine Approval For Kids Under 5; Fired NFL Coach Sues League, Alleges Racial Bias. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired February 02, 2022 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Ana Cabrera. Thank you so much for joining us.

We began with an explosive lawsuit sending shockwaves through the NFL. The Miami Dolphins recently fired head coach Brian Flores alleges the NFL is rife with racism. He makes claims against the league and three teams. He likens the NFL to a plantation.

Flores claims he was used for sham interviews because he is black and teams had to meet a certain quota. He spoke with CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN FLORES, FORMER MIAMI DOLPHINS HEAD COACH: This is bigger than me. This is bigger than football. Many have come before and done a lot to create change in this country for people of color.

And I just felt like -- and this is -- and it was my turn to step up and be an agent for change. And I'm proud to do that. I have two sons. They're 8 and 7. I have got a 5-year-old daughter.

When I look at them, I don't want to want them to go through some of the things I have had to go through. This is hard to do you know what we're doing here, because, in doing so, you risk doing what you love, which is coaching the game of football.

But being a black coach in the National Football League, you know that there's a target, obviously, a little bit of a target on you. And you know you have to be better than your counterparts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN's Leyla Santiago joins us live now at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, where Flores was coaching just a few weeks ago, before being fired.

Leyla, stunning emotional allegations here about race and controversial pressure he felt from higher-ups at the Miami Dolphins. Fill us in.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Ana.

I mean, in that interview, you really got a sense of determination to bring about change. Specifically, in this lawsuit, he talks about wanting to make a change to see more of an influence from black individuals when it comes to the hiring and the firing, more transparency in that interview process, and more diversity when it comes to owners of NFL teams.

The process, as he stands now, he said in that interview this morning that it made him feel humiliated, disbelief and anger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANTIAGO (voice-over): Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is suing the NFL and three of its teams, alleging racial discrimination. In a 58-page complaint, lawyers for Florida accused the league of being racially segregated and like a plantation.

Filed on the first day of Black History Month, the suit begins by saying: "Thirty-two owners, none of whom are black, profit substantially from the labor of NFL players, 70 percent of whom were black." Flores claims he was discriminated against by the league and some of its owners and managers while applying for the job of head coach of the New York Giants, revealing a series of texts from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick three days before he was scheduled to interview with the New York franchise.

The complaint states, on January 24, Belichick wrote: "Sounds like you have landed. Congrats."

Flores responded, saying: "Did you hear something I didn't hear?"

Belichick texted back: "Giants?"

Flores later texts Belichick to ask if he's texting the right coach, before Belichick fesses up that he has the wrong man.

"Sorry. I 'expletive' this up. I double-checked and I misread the text. I think they're naming Daboll. I'm sorry about that. B.B."

The lawsuit accuses the Giants of interviewing Flores for the job because of the Rooney Rule, even though the decision to hire Brian Daboll had been made. Originally introduced in 2003, the rule now requires at least two external minority candidates for open head coaching positions.

In a statement, the New York Giants stood by their hiring process, saying: "Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the 11th hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach." The lawsuit lays out another example of what it calls a sham interview, describing an encounter between Flores and the Denver Broncos management team: "The Broncos' then general manager, John Elway, president and chief executive officer Mr. Ellis and others showed up an hour late to the interview. They look completely disheveled. And it was obvious that they had been drinking heavily the night before."

The Broncos said Flores' allegations against the team are blatantly false, and that the interview on January 5 lasted three-and-a-half- hours, involved five executives and ran according to schedule.

"Our interview with Mr. Flores regarding our head coaching position began promptly at the scheduled time of 7:30 a.m. on January 5, 2019, in a Providence, Rhode Island, hotel. There were five Broncos executives present for the interview, which lasted approximately three-and-a-half-hours, the fully allotted time, and concluded shortly before 11 a.m."

[13:05:07]

Flores was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Miami Dolphins after three seasons in January, alleging the writing had been on the wall after he refused to tank for the first pick of the draft. The suit alleges, during Flores' first season with the Dolphins in 2019, owner Stephen Ross told Mr. Flores that he would pay him $100,000 for every loss after he refused.

To go along with Ross, Flores claims he was portrayed by the Dolphins as difficult to work with. In a statement, the Miami Dolphins denied any allegations of racial discrimination and that the organization would be withholding for their comment on the lawsuit at this time.

The wide-ranging suit also cites high-profile examples of cases of discrimination against black members of the league, such as that of Colin Kaepernick, who has not played since 2016 after kneeling in protest during the national anthem.

The NFL responded to Flores' lawsuit, saying the claims are without merit and adding: "The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organizations."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANTIAGO: And, Ana, Flores says that he is hopeful that he will coach again, but even if he is hired in the near future by an NFL team, he has no plans to drop that lawsuit.

Now, he acknowledges that his job is on the line here. And when asked this morning by CNN, if he never coaches again, if this will all be worth it, he was quick to say, if this brings about change, he believes it is worth it -- Ana.

CABRERA: Leyla Santiago, thank you. And joining us now to discuss, CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson, and

Cari Champion, sports journalist and host of the podcast "Naked With Cari Champion."

Joey, explosive racial claims here. He says the NFL is racially segregated, says it's run like a plantation. He talks about sham interviews.

Flores' lawyers think their case is a slam dunk, their words. How difficult will it be to prove or win this?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Ana, good to be with you.

So, the reality is, is that, when you file a complaint, obviously, that complaint is full of allegations. And then you go to a court of law, where those allegations really need to be established.

And remember that, since this is a civil case, the standard of proof is not beyond a reasonable doubt as in guilty as in criminal law. It's what's called a preponderance of the evidence. Is it more likely than not? Is it probable?

This complaint real -- I mean, is -- when you mentioned explosive, to say the least, Ana. This is really larger than Brian Flores. It takes really us through an account of the NFL. It speaks to the issue of the lack of really head coaches of the 32 teams, pointing out only one team has them, talks about the owners of the league with respect to no owner being African-American, talks about the lack of positions as it relates to defensive coordinators, offensive coordinator, quarterback coaches, et cetera.

And so this is really -- and it gives a historical foundation with respect to officiating, with regard to Art Shell in 1989 being the first African-American. And so, when you look at issues of proof, I mean, the numbers seem to really suggest that there's a problem here.

It also speaks to the issue of the Rooney Rule, which was enacted in order, right, for the last 20 years to ensure that at least head coaches were being interviewed by teams, and requiring that, and talking about, as to Brian Flores, how, with respect to him, it was a sham.

So I think, with regard to the allegations, although they're just that now, boy, do the numbers tell a real story that is compelling and speaks to the need to overhaul the NFL.

Last point, and that's this. I think, when you get to the court of law, before you even get there, there will be depositions. People will be sworn under oath. And if this lawsuit does anything with respect to Brian Flores or anything else, I think it is a real eye-opener and will compel league teams and others to take the issue of diversity and inclusion seriously, and to make real long-term, systematic changes in the NFL.

And I think that something that the lawsuit speaks to is very much needed and overdue. CABRERA: And my understanding is that it's been filed as a class-

action lawsuit, so that others could potentially join.

Cari, your reaction to this lawsuit and the potential impact it could have?

CARI CHAMPION, SPORTS JOURNALIST: Well, it's interesting to hear the word explosive.

It's explosive only to people who are not black. The reason why it's explosive in this world that we live in is because what Brian Flores did was stand in the gap for all the black people who've been dealing with this in different workspaces.

He said that very eloquently today when I saw him be interviewed on CNN "NEW DAY." And he said, this isn't just about him. This is for his two sons, because he knows that, as a black man, he does not have that chance, he will not have that chance, and he wants two sons to have a better future.

[13:10:00]

Now, in regards to the allegations of every single thing that he listed, it's run like a plantation, all of that is what I like to call it inside language that we discuss all the time if we are black people working in a world in which people feel like they don't understand why we value ourselves so much.

Brian Flores Flores refused to play the game with the owner in Stephen Ross. He refused to be the man to say, OK, I will take all these L's, even if you're paying me, even though this is a practice that has happened in the league, allegedly, far before Brian even aired all of this out.

My reaction to this is, I give him a tip of the cap. This man today, while some have said he is -- quote, unquote -- "the Rosa Parks," if you will, this man today essentially ended his career. He told everyone what was happening.

And he said he still has a sliver of hope of getting a job. To me, that's an incredible human, because he knows what the system is, but he still has a belief. He has belief in a system that has treated him poorly from jump.

And from that, we have to applaud him on -- during this particular month, in fact, in Black History Month, we have to celebrate Brian, because he is making history right now.

CABRERA: He is black. He's also Latino. He represents multiple minority communities and the experiences that those communities and people within those circles have also gone through, as you point out.

He alleges his treatment by the Giants was typical of how the Rooney Rule has been administered for the last couple of decades. And just a reminder here what this rule is. It was first adopted in 2003, and requires clubs to interview at least two external minority candidates for head coaching jobs.

It has rules for other positions as well.

But, Cari, right now, there is only one black head coach left out of 32 NFL teams, Mike Tomlin with the Pittsburgh Steelers. How broken is this system?

CHAMPION: Oh, it's always completely broken. I have heard conversations about investigate the league. The league can investigate itself.

This is about the owners. This is about the 32 men who own the teams, who refuse to let minority ownership come in, so we can see some real change. And it's beyond broken, in the sense that the Rooney Rule was put in place, in theory, as a great idea. And it did give minority coaches an opportunity -- coordinators, rather, an opportunity to be a head coach.

But if I'm just going through the motions, if you're bringing me in your office, and you know that you have already signed someone, and you're stipulating, oh, you guys need to be here at this time, and I need to do this, according to the Rooney Rule, it's all smoke and mirrors.

I really appreciate the Rooney Rule and what it was supposed to do. It needs to be revamped. There needs to be some sort of outside source. The problem is, is that the NFL is America's passion, as we have discussed before.

They really are looking at this like they cannot be stopped, they cannot be defeated. It's going to be hard to ask someone to police themselves, when they're the police and the gang and everything else all in one.

CABRERA: Now, they have put forward other efforts, right?

After George Floyd's killing in June of 2020, the NFL took other actions to address some things, like committing $250 million over a 10-year period to combat systemic racism. They added the phrases "End Racism" and "It Takes All of Us" to end zones. They publicly backed Black Lives Matter and that movement, admitted to past mistakes like with Colin Kaepernick. And they played "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the black national anthem, before games on opening weekend that year.

Cari, were these things meaningful? Or do you see them more as Band- Aids on a system that needs surgery?

CHAMPION: I wouldn't even call it a Band-Aid.

That's -- and you talk about another sham. All of that is just things that need to be done. I call it corporate social justice. I mean, let me just make it look right for everyone on the outside, because we're a corporation that only cares about the bottom line at the end of the day. The "End Racism" in the end zones, the "Lift Every Voice and Sing" clearly tells me that they haven't been in touch with anybody in the culture of the community or any marginalized group of people to have any real significant change. That's not what you do.

You don't sing and you don't put "End Racism" in the end zone so that you can make a change. That money, yes, it's great, and I'm sure it's probably doing the work that needs to be done, but did anybody -- again, back to my original point, Ana, did anybody ever talk to the owners?

Did anybody say, guess what, we really have to find -- there are more than enough eligible minority owners that can come together and own a football team. That should be the number one priority, as well as making sure that there's diversity in the head coaches.

Mike Tomlin can't be the only coach. It just -- it doesn't make any sense.

CABRERA: Yes. Yes, you're right. It doesn't make any sense. There are plenty of people who are qualified.

Joey, this lawsuit also claims that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told Flores that he would pay him $100,000 for every loss during the coach's first season, because Ross allegedly wanted the club to tank, so it could get the draft's top pick. And he also claims -- Flores, that is, that he was pressured to meet with a Q.B., in violation of NFL tampering rules, and that, when he refused, he feels he was then cast as difficult or the angry black man.

[13:15:09]

He's suggesting retaliation. Legal jeopardy here?

JACKSON: There certainly could be.

Look, the reality is that, when you do things like this, in the event that that's true, you're violating the law. And as a result of that, the United States attorney's office and the Department of Justice might have a bit of investigating to do and to look into whether that was happening, and to the extent that it is a violation, perhaps convening a grand jury.

So those are very serious things. You don't do that. You don't throw games to get draft picks. You don't really incentivize head coaches, which are supposed to be winning games, to try to lose them. And you don't engage in unethical conduct with respect to trying to get quarterbacks during the season, when they're off-limits.

But I think, ultimately, when you look at this lawsuit, Ana, it has to be not about window dressing and singing at various -- the national anthem or whatever else. It has to be about really, are you putting people in positions of authority? Are you effecting real change? Are you incorporating inclusion into the league in a way that you should be doing it? And I think that this lawsuit speaks to what you mentioned before. It

is a class-action. It's not only him, Brian Flores, but everyone who's similarly situated. And if it could do anything, it would cause an internal examination in the NFL and the external as it relates to this complaint to make those changes that are much needed, certainly long overdue.

And I think that Brian Flores is hoping for, for everyone, it's larger than him. He was very courageous to engage in this and to file the suit.

CABRERA: Joey Jackson and Cari Champion, thank you both so much for the conversation. I appreciate you.

The other top story we're following right now, big news in the pandemic fight. Pfizer has requested emergency use authorization for its COVID vaccine for kids as young as 6 months old.

Let's go to CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

And, Elizabeth, the last couple of days, I have had doctors on this show who have suggested that the data on effectiveness for this younger age bloc wasn't clear just yet. What does the data show? And when could this vaccine potentially be authorized for this age group?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Ana, so they're right. The data is not clear.

And, really, that's because Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies, they don't release their full data until just a few days before the FDA advisers meet. They're not meeting until February 15. So we haven't seen the full data.

There's one piece of information we know, which is that, last month, Pfizer said, you know what, when we gave two doses for children ages 2, 3, and 4, it didn't give the expected immune response, what we were looking for.

And so they said, we're thinking about a third shot. So now what we know is that this vaccine is going to be two shots spaced apart 21 days, just like for adults, and then a third shot eight weeks or more later. Now, the dosage is going to be three micrograms. That's 10 times lower than the dosage for adults.

And data on the third shot is -- this is super confusing. And I'm going to try to clear it up now. Pfizer is asking for permission for people to put on the market or to get an emergency use authorization for two shots now, not three, for two, because they don't have data on three.

So essentially, what they're saying is we want parents to get a head- start. We want them to start getting those first two shots for their little ones for children, ages 6 months to 5 years. And then the third shot will come along later.

This is extremely unusual. We have not seen this during the pandemic. They're telling parents get those two shots, and you will get a third, but we don't have data on that yet. So they're asking parents to start something, when we don't know the data for the whole thing. That is very, very unusual.

Here's why they're doing it. Take a look at COVID cases recently. This graph starts at the left at the beginning of the pandemic. And you can see it goes way up recently since Omicron came into play. So they don't want this huge number of children with COVID, both to protect them and to protect other people. Children are usually just fine, but they can spread it very easily, as any parent knows, to adults, possibly vulnerable adults, possibly to elderly, to their grandparents.

And they don't want that to happen. Now let's take a look at why the FDA and Pfizer and the CDC are going to have a tough time convincing this group of parents to get shots for their children. If you look at this, children ages 5 to 11, only 22 percent of them are fully immunized, and they have been eligible for immunization since November.

So they have had plenty of time. Only 22 percent are immunized. And that's much lower than other age groups. Now, the other age groups have had more time, but, still, 22 percent is very low.

Let's take a look at the results of a recent Kaiser poll that was released yesterday. What they found is, they asked 162 parents last month, children ages 6 months to 5 years. Only three in 10 of those parents said they would get their child vaccinated right away, only three out of 10.

[13:20:10]

So, federal agencies, Pfizer, they really have their work cut out for them with the parents of these young, very young children -- Ana.

CABRERA: Great information, Elizabeth.

Real quick, we expect to hear from President Biden later this hour on the White House Cancer Moonshot initiative. Remember this? What can you tell us about what what's happening with it?

COHEN: All right, let's take a look at some of the basics of this Moonshot.

So what the White House is saying is they want to reduce cancer death rates by at least 50 percent in the next 25 years. That is certainly a very big goal. They also want to improve the experience of those living with and surviving cancer.

They said -- and this is a quote from the White House -- "We want to end cancer as we know it today." Those are certainly big goals. We look forward to hearing the details of how they plan to accomplish that -- Ana.

CABRERA: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you for that preview. And also breaking today, President Biden officially deploying thousands of U.S. troops to Eastern Europe, as Russia continues to ramp up military activity on its border with Ukraine.

And the economy just ran into an Omicron wall and lost hundreds of thousands of jobs last month. We will discuss with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

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[13:25:42]

CABRERA: Breaking moments ago, the White House says it is no longer describing a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine as imminent, suggesting the word sent an unintended message.

Now, President Biden did formally give the green light today to deploy thousands of U.S. troops to Eastern Europe, as Russia continues its military buildup around Ukraine.

Now CNN's Nic Robertson is joining us from Moscow.

Let's begin, though, with Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us, Barbara.

First, no longer imminent, and yet they're sending U.S. troops. Tell us more.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, this may be just the beginning, because the Pentagon and the Biden administration is clearly holding the door open for potentially more troops to go beyond the thousands already earmarked.

So what do we have on the table here today? What the Pentagon has said is, they are going to move about 1,000 U.S. troops already stationed in Germany on to Romania. They will join 900 troops already routinely stationed there. They will help the Romanians.

In addition, about 2,000 U.S. troops will move from U.S. to Europe to Poland and Germany. These will be members of the 82nd Airborne and the 101st. These are units that specialize in rapid deployment.

All of these troops are aimed at trying to reassure the NATO allies on NATO's eastern flank, who are so nervous, they say, about Russia that the U.S. is there for them, defending the NATO commitment, though they will not work under a NATO flag, working to help these military forces in these nations be reassured and help them with deterrence if Russia makes a move.

Now, they will not fight the Russians. They will not go into Ukraine. So the question is, why now? And is there any suspicion at all that Putin would make a move into any of these countries? The Pentagon doesn't -- it's not really saying it doesn't seem to think so, but it's really emphasizing that this is part of the overall commitment to the NATO alliance and to these countries to show Putin that these countries will be defended if it came to that -- Ana. CABRERA: Part of that deterrence strategy.

Nic, how's Moscow and the Russian president responding to all of this?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Interestingly, nothing yet from the president here, from his office, or from any senior officials.

Obviously, they generally typically are quite slow to respond. In the past, though, when it was discussed about 8,500 U.S. troops being put on a shorter standby to go join NATO forces at the request of NATO, when that happened, the comments that we heard from officials here were very much along the lines of, this is an escalation, this is the United States, with its allies, increasing the tensions in the region.

They point to the United States and NATO for doing that, and reject the idea that it's their forces on the borders of Ukraine that are causing the tension at the moment. So, typically, what we have heard in the past is for Russian officials to say that this isn't going to be helpful, that it's going to not improve the possibility for diplomacy.

But, at the moment, we're still waiting to get a readout from them on it. And I think it's also interesting as well because, essentially, we are still waiting for President Putin to give his readout on the U.S. and NATO letters that were delivered a week ago tonight.

So it's operating slowly, but the Kremlin here is very much keeping its position on its front foot, with its troops on the borders of Ukraine.

CABRERA: Nic Robertson and Barbara Starr, thank you both.

Gas prices are up. Interest rates are up. Inflation is way up. And jobs just hit a major roadblock. I will discuss with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh next.

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