My Stand: The Dez Bryant Issue

“What do you want me to say, I’m sorry!” –Jay-Z

Yea, that’s how I feel right now. That’s the line Jay-Z opened with when he came out of retirement, breaking his promise not to come out of retirement. Yesterday I said I wouldn’t weigh in on the Dez Bryant issue, well after listening to former NFL player, Marcellus Wiley on ESPN Radio, I have a completely new stand, and I’m going to share it.

If you haven’t heard the news, you can read it here: http://bit.ly/9wljSm

Now in the past 36 hours, the vast majority or people who’ve weighed in have said one of two things; either “That’s over the line, and I hate it” or “If you’re investing millions of dollars into someone, you deserve to ask whatever you want”

I take neither.

Jeff Ireland is the protégé of Bill Parcels. Parcels literally made him promises and promises to get Ireland to leave the Cowboys franchise to come to Miami. I FULLY believe that Ireland asked that question because Bill Parcels asked him to, I’m pretty sure 99% of the people who read this (3 people) know that that’s not a stretch by any means.

The worst part about this is, Ireland apologized but gave no details on the context of how the question was asked, and the Miami organization is so secretive that they won’t either. Just leaves the media and public wondering what exactly took place. Some have already dismissed that it didn’t come out as straight forward as, “Is your mom a prostitute?”

I’m pretty sure it did.

Let’s get one thing straight here and now. We as morale human beings, by default, HATE thinking about our mom having sex of any kind. Especially guys, we can’t stand that very idea. We’d like to think she only had sex that one time for us to be born, then immediately stopped. So of course we hate this question.

It probably came out, just like it sounded.

Marcellus Wiley was a free agent in 2004 and was visiting the Dallas Cowboys where Bill Parcels, then the head coach of the Cowboys, sat in a room with him for an interview. Wiley described the interview on ESPN Radio, and said the first question that he asked was, “Do you do drugs?” Point blank, just asked it with no sugarcoating, no beating around the bush, nothing. Wiley continued and said that Parcels wasn’t even facing him during the question. Instead, he had his back turned and was writing on a chalk board.

Wiley notes that he indeed is from Compton, California. He has family members that does and sold drugs, which is most likely why Parcels asked that question. And the way it was asked is why I believe Ireland asked Dez Bryant in a similar manner. Bryant’s mom was indeed in prison for drug trafficking.

Wiley continued though, stating that he got to know Bill Parcels and Parcels told him that he doesn’t mold players, he molds men, he doesn’t want to fail another player by only helping them on the field, but helping them grow up.

Lawrence Taylor, former linebacker who played for Parcells in the late-80s and early-90s, became a drug addict late in his career. Not to mention Quincy Carter, who also use to play for Parcels, ended up being blackballed from the league after his drug addiction came to surface.

Wiley stated that Parcels feels responsible for both of them. And that’s why Parcels wanted to know if Wiley had any drug issues. He believes Parcels was asking, not to find a reason not to sign him to a contract, but rather to help him if need be.

Chris Carter, former NFL wideout called into ESPN Radio after hearing Wiley’s story and had even more to add to it. When Chris Carter was released from the Philadelphia Eagles in the late-80s, it became made public that Carter had a drug addiction. And who gave him a call? Bill Parcels. A person who until then had no reason to call him, nor any connection to him

Note: Those two are still friends to this date.

I fully believe that Parcels sent Ireland to ask that question, not to be an asshole, or to be rude, but to find out if Bryant had any issues. That way, if the Dolphins did draft him, that Parcels and the organization could help him and help him become a better man, not just a better player.

Also note that since that interview that Ireland had with Bryant, the Dolphins traded for Pro Bowl wideout, Brandon Marshall. A player that has an obvious troubled past and has yet to emotionally recover from the death of his good friend, Darrent Williams. So Bryant was most likely passed over by the Dolphins because they had another great player.

Do you think Parcels has already reached out to Marshall to help him? I think so.

So that’s where I stand. Maybe the question should’ve been more politically correct. But I believe in the good intentions of Bill Parcels, so I don’t have a problem with it at all.