Giants' Mara: I'm not settling Flores lawsuit

New York Giants co-owner John Mara said he has no plans to settle the lawsuit Brian Flores brought forward for alleged racist hiring practices, calling the allegations false.

"Not settling it," Mara said Sunday, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan. "Because the allegations are false. We're very comfortable with our hiring process. It was a fair process, and we ended up making the decision that we made based on a lot of factors - none of which had to do with race."

Flores' lawsuit claims the Giants made plans to interview him solely to comply with the Rooney Rule and that they'd already decided on their intended head coach.

Mara also denied any communication with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who the lawsuit said mistakenly texted Flores to congratulate him for landing the job prior to his interview. Belichick later clarified he made an error and said that he believed the Giants were going to hire Brian Daboll, who eventually landed the gig.

The Giants called Flores' allegations "disturbing and simply false" in a statement released earlier this offseason.

"I've said over and over again: We had a very thorough process," Mara added Sunday. "Interviewed some great candidates. Made the decision we made based on a lot of factors. (General manager) Joe (Schoen's) prior relationship with Brian (Daboll) certainly entered into it. But at the end of the day, we thought Brian Daboll was the best fit for us."

Flores also received consideration from the Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints for a head-coaching job this offseason but failed to secure any of the positions. He was later hired to the Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive staff.

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