Former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores spoke with CBS News on Wednesday (Feb. 2) in his first interview since filing a lawsuit against the NFL and accusing the league of racial discrimination.

Speaking with the outlet, Flores said it’s been a “tough 24 hours” since filing the lawsuit, but thanked his fans, friends and family for the outpouring of support.

As reported by REVOLT, Flores is suing the NFL, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos and claims he was discriminated against in the hiring process while interviewing with the Giants for the position of head coach.

Flores, who was fired from the Dolphins last month, says he was offered a “sham” interview with the Giants after the team had allegedly already picked a new head coach. In his lawsuit, Flores said he received a text from New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick a few days prior to his interview congratulating him on landing the job. However, it turned out that Belichick meant to send the congratulatory message to former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, whom the Dolphins ultimately hired.

After realizing that the text was a mix-up, Fores said he felt a “range of emotions.”

“Humiliation, disbelief, anger,” he recalled to CBS. “I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am in football to become a head coach. [I’ve] put 18 years in this league.”

Flores said he still went to the interview, but now believes the hiring process was a “sham” and feels he wasn’t truly considered as a candidate for the role. Speaking with CBS, Flores also referred to the Rooney Rule, which is an NFL policy that requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior operational positions.

“The Rooney Rule is intended to give minorities an opportunity to sit down in front of [owners], but I think what it’s turned into is [something] where guys are just checking a box,” he told CBS. “I’ve been on some interviews in the past where I’ve had that feeling.”

Elsewhere in his lawsuit, Flores also accused Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of attempting to bribe him to purposefully lose games. Flores also claims he was fired from the team after he refused to violate the NFL’s regulations on tampering.

The former coach is asking the league to address several concerns, including increasing Black individuals’ influence over the hiring process; making the league’s pay scale more transparent; and hiring more Black head coaches, general managers and NFL coordinators.