Habib: Brian Flores, lawyers undercut credibility with classless shot at Lovie Smith

Allow me to give Brian Flores some legal advice.

What were you thinking?

OK, maybe that doesn’t exactly qualify as legal advice, and I never graduated from Harvard Law School, but still. The latest chapter in the saga of the former Dolphins coach just jumped the rails, and if somebody — Flores, his lawyers or both — doesn’t grab the steering wheel, this thing may become a wreck in a hurry.

Flores made national news last week by filing a class-action lawsuit charging the NFL with racism in denying Black coaches an equal opportunity at head-coaching positions. He also alleged that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to bribe him for losing games to enhance the team’s draft position, which Ross denies. That was followed by a day-long media blitz of probably every network offered by your provider.

Fine so far.

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But Monday night came a statement from Flores’ legal team that qualifies as contradictory at best and bizarre and classless at worst. It came in response to the Houston Texans selecting Lovie Smith as coach over Flores.

“Mr. Flores is happy to hear that the Texans have hired a Black head coach, Lovie Smith, as Mr. Flores’ goal in bringing his case is to provide real opportunities for Black and minority candidates to be considered for coaching and executive positions within the NFL,” the statement began.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. It applauds Smith for his promotion, reaffirms Flores’ motivation for filing suit and takes the high road.

Why make this personal with Lovie Smith?

If only it stopped there.

What followed sent the whole thing careening into the gutter.

“However, we would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coach position and, after a great interview and mutual interest, it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.”

The only reason?

With three words, Flores and his lawyers dissed Smith’s 11 years of experience as an NFL head coach, his record (89-87, a .506 percentage) and that little matter of 2006, when he was 13-3 with the Chicago Bears, taking them to the Super Bowl.

Flores has only three years’ experience as a head coach, a 24-25 record and hasn’t made the playoffs, but that’s not the point.

The point is Flores is in a battle in the court of public opinion. Only those who witnessed Ross’ bribery attempt — if it in fact occurred — know the truth on that issue.

But everybody knows the reality on his discrimination charge. The NFL’s record when it comes to minority coaches is so abysmal, it’s indefensible. From the moment the suit was filed, Flores had the support of clear-thinking fans who knew it was time someone called the league onto the carpet and strong-armed the NFL to change.

With Flores readily acknowledging he risked getting blackballed the same way Colin Kaepernick was, it was easy to view Flores as a champion for change. It’s also possible that any credibility gained for standing up to the NFL’s good-ol’-boy network may have extended, in some minds, to his unrelated tanking accusation against the Dolphins.

‘God has gifted me' comment undercuts message

But Flores undercut himself.

“God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football,” he said.

You wouldn’t expect to hear that kind of talk from anyone, not even a Bill Belichick. Likewise, you might have found jarring an opening line in the court filing that attempted to compare Flores’ suit to the work of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson.

Until Monday night, perhaps you were inclined to let it slide. The guy had just been fired from his first head-coaching gig. He had just picked a fight with the NFL. He had no idea his career was swirling down the drain faster than last night’s toothpaste.

But now, this. From the man who gives a “great” interview. The Texans chose a different Black coach in Smith. There went any opportunity to play the race card. Instead, Flores played the “I lost out to that guy?” card, making it personal between himself and a man named Lovie. That doesn’t make the Texans’ selection look small. It makes Flores look small.

Brian Flores' credibility takes a hit

Know what else it does?

It makes you want to rethink Flores’ credibility. It doesn’t absolve NFL owners from racist decisions, but it makes you wonder if Flores should be the face of a fight that must be fought.

It makes you question if this is a fired employee hungry for attention or revenge with his bribery accusation. Or if he’s worked up to the point he’ll take his frustrations out on anybody, even a Lovie Smith, who along with Tony Dungy made history in Miami during that Super Bowl, the first time two Black head coaches met on the NFL’s biggest stage.

Maybe Flores would have become a head coach without Smith and Dungy, but you wouldn’t want to bet on it.

So the best legal advice I can offer? Try a little respect, Brian. A bit of class. A little humility. Remember what you used to tell the Dolphins? About putting the team first? About selflessness?

This is a class-action suit, after all.

It's not all about you.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Brian Flores, lawyers, resort to cheap shot at Lovie Smith. But why?