As the N.F.L. season comes to a close, we’re looking at a class-action lawsuit that Brian Flores, a former head coach of the Miami Dolphins, has filed against the league.

After seemingly being passed over for another coaching job before he was able to sit down for an interview, Mr. Flores, who is Black, filed a federal lawsuit alleging discrimination by the N.F.L. and all 32 of its teams.

At the heart of this case is the Rooney Rule, a diversity policy implemented two decades ago by the league that has since been adopted across corporate America.

We explore the lawsuit and the Rooney Rule, and we hear from Cyrus Mehri, a civil rights lawyer who helped create the policy.

On today’s episode

Background reading

• Brian Flores has sued the N.F.L. and its 32 teams, accusing them of discriminating against him and other Black coaches in their hiring practices.

• After Mr. Flores’s lawsuit and a cycle in which only two nonwhite head coaches were hired, the Rooney Rule, the N.F.L.’s biggest diversity initiative, is facing new scrutiny.

• Those close to Mr. Flores say his lawsuit is in keeping with the sense of moral rectitude instilled by his mother as he grew up in a Brooklyn housing project.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

Transcripts of each episode are available by the next workday. You can find them at the top of the page.

Ken Belson contributed reporting.

Fact checked by Caitlin Love.

The Daily is made by Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Larissa Anderson, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Austin Mitchell, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Daniel Guillemette, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Kaitlin Roberts, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Anita Badejo, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Chelsea Daniel, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens and Rowan Niemisto.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Cliff Levy, Lauren Jackson, Julia Simon, Mahima Chablani, Sofia Milan, Desiree Ibekwe, Erica Futterman, Wendy Dorr, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli and Maddy Masiello.