Former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson and the head of his foundation have accused the Browns of paying Jackson to lose games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
The allegation came on the heels of Brian Flores suing the NFL and three teams — the Dolphins, Broncos and Giants — alleging discrimination regarding his interview processes with Denver and New York and his firing last month by Miami. In the lawsuit, Flores also alleged that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross attempted to incentivize him to tank, and purposely lose games shortly after he was hired in 2019, with Ross allegedly offering Flores $100,000 for every loss that season.
Kimberly Diemert, who is the executive director of the Hue Jackson Foundation, which works to prevent human trafficking, claimed the Browns paid Jackson to lose games when he was the head coach in Cleveland, tweeting that “we have records that will help” Flores’ case.
Congratulations #brianflores for your bravery. We have records that will help your case. DM me. @NFL and @nflcommish knew about this and covered it up. They did this @Browns . Paid Brown, DePodesta and Berry bonus $ along with @huejack10 to TANK for 2016 and 2017.@espn https://t.co/YOnqArWlnL
— Kimberly Diemert (@KimberlyDiemer1) February 2, 2022
Diemert said in a phone interview with ESPN that their proof is “well documented” and previously had been “presented to the league.” Diemert declined to say how much money was discussed.
Diemert told ESPN that she and Jackson stand by her tweet that the Browns paid several executives and Jackson bonus money to “tank” in 2016 and ’17.
When pressed to be more specific, she said: “The Cleveland Browns had a four-year plan in place to not win games …” and, when pressed again, she repeated that “there was a four-year plan put in place by ownership and executives which resulted in strategic losses.”
A spokesperson for the Browns called the charge “completely fabricated” and said that “any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”
In a text message exchange, Jackson said that “it’s time to take a stand. What I want is what Brian [Flores] wants which is for this BS to change for black coaches. I lived this same crap.”
He didn’t immediately comment further but had earlier tweeted multiple times backing Diemert’s claims.
I stand with Brian Flores. I can back up every word i’m saying.
— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022
Trust me it was a good number!
— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022
The Browns went 1-15 in 2016, then 0-16 the next season, giving them the No. 1 draft pick in back-to-back years. Cleveland drafted defensive end Myles Garrett in 2017, then quarterback Baker Mayfield in 2018. Jackson was fired midway through the 2019 season.
Grambling State hired Jackson to be its head coach this past December.
