NEW YORK — NFL Coach Brian Flores can press discrimination claims against the league and three teams after a federal judge on Wednesday rejected the option of arbitration, presumably before Commissioner Roger Goodell, and offered some stinging observations about the status of racial bias in the sport.

The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan clearing the way for Flores to bring his claims to trial also required two other coaches who joined the lawsuit to submit to arbitration. The league had tried to move the Flores claims to arbitration, citing contracts that coaches had signed.

Flores sued the league and three teams a year ago, saying the league was “rife with racism,” particularly in its hiring and promotion of Black coaches.

Caproni wrote that the descriptions by the coaches of their experiences of racial discrimination in a league with a “long history of systematic discrimination toward Black players, coaches, and managers – are incredibly troubling.”

The judge said it was “difficult to understand” how there was only one Black head coach at the time Flores filed his lawsuit in a league of 32 teams with Black players making up about 70% of the rosters.

The judge said Flores can let a jury decide the merits of his discrimination claims against the league, the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the Houston Texans, but he must pursue his claims against the Miami Dolphins through arbitration.

“We are pleased that Coach Flores’ class claims of systematic discrimination against the NFL and several teams will proceed in court and ultimately before a jury of his peers,” attorney Douglas Wigdor said in an email. “We are disappointed the court compelled arbitration of any claims before Mr. Goodell as he is obviously biased and unqualified to rule on these matters. We expect him to delegate those matters to a truly neutral arbitrator as a matter of fundamental fairness.”

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said the judge’s ruling “correctly holds that the vast majority of claims in this case are properly arbitrable by the Commissioner under binding agreements signed by each plaintiff.”

He added: “We intend to move forward promptly with arbitrations as directed by the Court and to seek to dismiss the remaining claims.”

Flores brought the lawsuit after he was fired by Miami, where he led the Dolphins to a 24-25 record over three years.

According to the lawsuit, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told Flores he would pay him $100,000 for every loss during the coach’s first season because he wanted the club to “tank” so it could get the draft’s top pick.

The lawsuit alleged that Ross then pressured Flores to recruit a prominent quarterback in violation of the league’s tampering rules. When Flores refused, he was cast as the “angry Black man” who is difficult to work with and was derided until he was fired, the suit said.

PACKERS: Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers.

Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that was released Wednesday morning. He spent much of the 1 1/2-hour conversation describing his recent isolation retreat in which he said he spent four days alone in a dark room.

“There’s a finality to the decision,” Rodgers said. “I don’t make it lightly. I don’t want to drag anybody around.”

Rodgers, who is due to make about $59.5 million if he plays, noted that “for everyone involved, directly and indirectly it’s best for a decision earlier.”

GEORGE TOMA, the longtime groundskeeper who has overseen or advised the field preparation for all 57 Super Bowls, identified reasons why the turf for last month’s game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, was slippery.

Players from both teams – the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 – complained about the turf after the game. Several Eagles players switched cleats during the game to get a better grip. Toma told ESPN that the field was mismanaged by Ed Mangan, the NFL’s field director. The field was watered and rolled into the stadium four days before the game.

“So what he does, he waters the hell out of and puts it right into the stadium and that’s it,” Toma said. “Never sees sunlight against. He can’t do that.”

What should happen, Toma said, is the field should have been watered the morning of the game and kept outside to dry before being rolled back in.

Also, a tarp covered the field during rehearsals for the pregame, halftime and postgame shows, creating an odor. “It smelled bad,” Toma said.

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