Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant has only been back a short time after missing much of this season due to injury. Well, his name is back in the spotlight already, and it’s not for his great play on the field. On Thursday, Bryant went off on the media in a profanity-laced tirade that ended up turning really ugly, and now, many are wondering if it will earn him a suspension from the NFL or the team.
As reported by ESPN , there was an open media session in the Cowboys locker room on Thursday. Bryant launched his tirade aimed at the media and more specifically, ESPN’s Jean-Jacques Taylor. Words were exchanged between the star wide receiver and the reporter before Cowboys wide receiver Devin Street intervened.
That’s when it got even worse.
At this point, Street claimed that Taylor used a racial epithet toward him, and it’s been said by some that it was indeed the dreaded “n-word.” Taylor, who is black, denied ever using the slur, and three others in the locker room said they never heard him say it either.
As the situation was occuring, some reporters were tweeting about it, including Robert Klemko of The MMQB.
Dez Bryant just blew up on reporter, went on 10-min rant. “Until they stop disrespecting this team I don’t give a f—. Mother——- sick!”
— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) November 12, 2015
That was when things got even worse than before. Bryant learned that Klemko made that tweet and exchanged words with him. He told Klemko that the tweet was not accurate, and it ended with a public relations assistant standing in between the two of them with Bryant still yelling.
“If you’re going to report something, report it right.”
At this point, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten left the area where he was meeting with reporters and tried to calm the situation down. That was when head coach Jason Garrett and Rich Galrymple, the vice president of public relations/communications for the Cowboys, entered the room.
Dez Bryant spoke to Garrett and called the media “dirty” nine different times during that conversation. Once it was over, Bryant walked out of the locker room only to return later, sit at his locker for a few minutes, and then leave again with music blasting from a wireless system.
As reported by USA Today , Garrett said that Bryant should have handled things differently on Thursday and walked away. He said, “Dez shouldn’t be in that situation. If someone is going to incite him, just remove yourself from the situation.”
Later, after the open media day was over, Bryant got on Twitter.
“Yeah, I blew up on the media but report why I blew up on ya’ll… Saying I don’t give f— about me and calling players n—– is not professional.”
Bryant later tweeted and said he was done with the situation, and it appeared as if he was going to let it go. Well, he obviously didn’t like the way he was being portrayed in reports and on social media, so he hopped on Twitter again.
Take it however you want pic.twitter.com/kfjf5pIw6H
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) November 12, 2015
With the Dallas Cowboys in the middle of a six-game losing streak, there is nothing right now that is going to improve the players’ moods. Bryant decided not to speak to the media again after the incident on Thursday, and Dalrymple said that there would be no comment from the Cowboys about what happened.
The NFL has not said anything about any type of discipline being handed down to Dez Bryant, and the Dallas Cowboys appear to be done with it all now that it’s over. There is still a lot left to the season, but they need to win now. It’s not hard to see why the players are frustrated.
[Image via Getty Images – Ronald Martinez]