As it turns out, there’s a limit to the power of FIFA.
Soccer’s international governing body has managed to dictate terms to those who will be hosting World Cup matches, compelling NFL stadiums to rip up artificial turf and install acceptable grass fields. FIFA may have met its match, however, with the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey.
Via Ben Horney of Front Office Sports, New York attorney general Letitia James and New Jersey attorney general Jennifer Davenport have subpoenaed FIFA amid an investigation regarding ticketing practices that have resulted in obscene prices for eight matches to be played at MetLife Stadium. The venue also will be hosting the final game.
“New Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to come to their backyard, and they deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets,” James said in a statement. “No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats, and fans should be able to trust that the tickets they purchase will be the ones they receive.”
“Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated,” Davenport said. “But FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices — all at the expense of consumers and hardworking New Jerseyans.”
The objective is to determine how FIFA developed its pricing model. It will be interesting to see whether FIFA fully cooperates, or whether it attempts to obstruct and/or delay the process.
It’s one thing for market dynamics to dictate price. It’s another thing for games to be played in order to gouge consumers and to freeze out those who can’t afford to pay the exorbitant prices.
The Giants have made another veteran addition to their defensive line.
They announced the signing of defensive tackle Josh Tupou on Wednesday. They waived offensive tackle Reid Holskey in a corresponding move.
Tupou played in six games for the Ravens over the last two seasons and he posted eight tackles and a sack for Baltimore. Tupou spent his first six seasons with the Bengals and had 86 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble in 65 appearances.
Defensive linemen D.J. Reader, Shelby Harris, Leki Fotu, Sam Roberts, and Zacch Pickens have also joined the Giants this offseason, but a need for more reinforcement arose when Roy Robertson-Harris tore his Achilles in a recent workout.
The Giants signed one of their two first-round picks on Wednesday.
The team announced that offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa has signed his four-year rookie deal. The Giants will hold a fifth-year option on that contract as well.
Mauigoa was the 10th overall pick in April. Fifth-overall pick Arvell Reese is now the only unsigned member of the draft class.
Mauigoa was a three-year starter at right tackle for Miami and was an All-American during his final season with the Hurricanes, but he will be switching positions to kick off his NFL career. Mauigoa is expected to start at right guard with veteran Jermaine Eluemunor at the tackle spot.
Tuesday’s decision by the Supreme Court to not accept the NFL’s petition for appeal in the Brian Flores case means that all of his claims will be decided in court, not in arbitration.
And Flores recently added some new factual allegations to the various legal theories raised in his four-year-old litigation against the league and various teams.
In the third amendment to his initial civil complaint, Flores has added specific allegations of retaliation against the NFL.
The 483-paragraph, 106-page document includes at paragraphs 298 through 312 allegations that the NFL has retaliated against Flores since the filing of his initial lawsuit.
“Despite it being widely understood by the public and sports media that Mr. Flores should be considered one of the elite Head Coach candidates, Mr. Flores has not been offered a Head Coach job since starting this lawsuit,” the new complaint alleges at paragraph 311.
From paragraph 312 of the new complaint: “The NFL teams’ failure to hire Mr. Flores is consistent with an NFL Head Coach hiring process that is [sic] has for decades treated Black candidates disparately to white candidates and led to significantly disparate impact. It is also consistent with a culture of retaliation in which NFL teams close ranks against those who raise complaints of discrimination.”
The new factual allegations did not result in an additional cause of action; the existing lawsuit already includes multiple specific claims for retaliation.
As to the concept of retaliation based on the failure of teams to hire Flores as its head coach, the current complaint lists only one team — the Texans. In 2022, Houston made Flores one of three finalists for the job (along with Josh McCown and Jonathan Gannon) before hiring Lovie Smith instead. Flores claims that the decision to not hire him was motivated by the filing of his lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams.
Although no specific other teams have been accused of failing to hire Flores in retaliation for filing and pursuing his lawsuit, the discovery process could lead to evidence that would support a finding that Flores was not given proper consideration by one or more teams with vacancies during the 2023, 2024, 2025, and/or 2026 hiring cycles.
The contention that the NFL maintains a “culture of retaliation” shows that Flores suspects his failure to get more interviews and/or any offers resulted from retaliation. Time will tell whether other specific teams are added to the case as defendants.
Flores’s current claims target the Dolphins, Texans, Broncos, and Giants. (His co-plaintiffs, Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, have sued the Cardinals and Titans, respectively.)
Obviously, Flores won’t be able to force any team to hire him. His aggressive legal arguments won’t make that any easier. Throughout the litigation, however, he has chosen doing what he believes is right over what would be expedient for his career.
And so he’ll continue to serve as Minnesota’s defensive coordinator, while waiting for a head-coaching opportunity that may never materialize. In the end, the NFL and/or specific teams could be on the wrong end of a verdict that requires them to pay Flores as if he has been a head coach since 2022.
Even if Flores never becomes a head coach again.
Once again this offseason, the Giants are taking a look at a defensive tackle.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, veteran Eddie Goldman worked out for New York on Tuesday.
Goldman, 32, spent last season with the Commanders. He appeared in 13 games with six starts, recording 26 total tackles with four tackles for loss and one QB hit.
Goldman came out of retirement to play the 2024 season with the Falcons, appearing in 17 games with 10 starts. He tallied 16 total tackles with one TFL, three QB hits, and one sack that season.
A Bears second-round pick in the 2015 draft, Goldman has appeared in 111 games with 89 starts over his career for Chicago, Atlanta, and Washington. He’s recorded 14.0 sacks with 23 tackles for loss and 25 QB hits.
Since trading Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals last month, the Giants have been on the hunt for big men to fill out the interior of their defense. The club has added Shelby Harris, Leki Fotu, DJ Reader, and Zacch Pickens since April 28.
