Former Browns Coach Hue Jackson Suggests Browns Paid Out Bonuses to Lose Games During 2016, ’17 Seasons

Former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson and the head of his foundation 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, aka 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 made a similar offer to Jackson 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.

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.”

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SOURCE: ESPN, Jake Trotter