Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant Gets Himself Into More Hot Water

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One has to wonder what it's going to take for the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones to throw up their hands and admit, maybe we shouldn't have drafted this guy after all.

Dez Bryant, the Cowboys first round draft pick back in 2010, has made a habit of getting himself into trouble during the offseason.
A run in with police at North Park Mall in Dallas and owing a jewelry store more than $100,000 for bling he never paid for. Oh yeah, and then there was former Cowboy Deion Sanders telling the media he wanted nothing more to do with Bryant, a guy he used to mentor.
Now comes this.
According to Richie Whitt of the Dallas Observer, Dez Bryant was apparently supposed to show up at NJ Expo Center in Edison, New Jersey to sign autographs for the Collectors Showcase of America show that was to take place there.
According to Whitt, Bryant was given three round trip airline tickets plus hotel for himself, his advisor David Wells, as well as another friend. He was also supposed to receive $10,000 for two hours of signing autographs, a limo for the three of them to Atlantic City and two more hotel rooms there as well as a suite.
For all that you would think Bryant would have gladly showed up especially with former NFL players like Terry Bradshaw, Bo Jackson, Ray Lewis, Frank Gifford and Joe Greene in attendance not to mention former Dallas Cowboys Tony Dorsett and Jay Novacek were also in attendance.
But, in true Dez Bryant style, he decided he was going to no-show.
"There's a professional code that most players adopt," Marco Rol, the president of the Collectors Showcase of America, told Whitt. "They feel a responsibility to their fans, not to mention they're paid handsomely to show up. What Dez did happens probably only one out of 100 times.You get cancellations and re-schedulings in our business, but it's very rare to get the total no-show like that one."
Bryant apparently wasn't the only current Dallas Cowboy to be a no-show in Edison. Jay Ratliff also did show up to the event but he did apparently call Rol to let him know before hand that he would not be there and offered to sign additional items just to make up for his absence.
What excuse could he have possibly used to no-show to the event who was willing to give so much to him and his "advisors?" Bryant apparently said his father had a heart attack.
But according to a source Whitt spoke to, the Cowboys' wide receiver and the friend of advisor David Wells apparently complained about details already discussed with them almost a month earlier.
"He's asking me how long he had to sign, how many fans will be there, complaining about the money, things like that," a liaison for the collector's show said. "Next thing I know his father is sick and dying and he's not coming to Jersey because he has to go to Houston. David came up, but that's like a jockey showing up with no horse."
The question now might be, is Dez Bryant becoming too much of a hassle and too much of a public relations nightmare for the Dallas Cowboys to put up with?
His problems all started so innocently with refusing to carry the shoulder pads of veteran wide receiver, Roy Williams. Since then, it's been all downhill for the former Oklahoma State Cowboy.
If things continue down this same path, Deion Sanders won't be the only one cutting ties with Dez Bryant.

Andre Gurode, Dallas Cowboys Say They Have Reached Out to Dez Bryant

Dez Bryant has been the source of a lot of headaches for the Dallas Cowboys during the off season.

With his run-ins at an upscale mall in Dallas and owing money to a jewelry store, some wonder what we still might not know about the Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver.

His former mentor, Deion Sanders, has jumped ship and is no longer speaking to the second year wideout. He told ESPN radio a few weeks ago that Bryant needed help and he had told the Cowboys as much in earlier conversations with them. He, however, was done trying to help him out when it seemed Bryant wouldn't help himself.

While "Prime Time" might not be there for Bryant, it seems his Cowboys teammates are ready to pick up the slack.

Cowboys' center Andre Gurode joined 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas on Wednesday morning and was asked about reaching out to Bryant and trying to keep him in line.

"You know, I think we have a close-knit group and we all want the best for Dez," Gurode said. "We have reached out to try and get in contact with him and tell him that this is a situation that you’re going through and we want you to get through it, and get over it. And if you need any help, call one of us and we’ll definitely sit down and talk to you."

Whether or not Gurode of any of his teammates can get through to this young wide receiver isn't a given but Gurode and the rest of his teammates need to make this an internal conversation. If there is anyone Bryant is going to listen to it has to be the veteran's in the locker room, right?

I know there was the drama surrounding him and Roy Williams during training camp last year and it didn't start Bryant's career off as a Cowboy on the right foot. But when it comes to guys who can get through to a young guy who needs to be turned around and put on the right path, Gurode is the right guy to start things off.

Nothing has worked yet, maybe this is a latch ditch effort to see how Bryant responds. If he doesn't and continues to get in trouble, one has to wonder whether Jerry Jones and the rest of the front office and coaching staff might have to make other plans for his future.


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Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant, Deion Sanders Cut Ties For Good

Dez Bryant couldn't be having a worse week than this one. Even though it's Friday, which is normally a good thing, it's not a Friday Bryant is going to remember.

After being kicked out of Dallas' upscale mall, NorthPark Center, former Dallas Cowboy Deion Sanders told ESPN Radio's Ben and Skin Show this morning he wants nothing more to do with the young wide receiver.

"I'm upset but not surprised whatsoever," Sanders told them. "He needs help. He needs help. I told the Cowboys from day one that he needs help. Matter of fact, they have a team in place to help him. But you cannot tell a grown man what to do."

When the news reached Bryant, as you can imagine his reaction was less than cordial. "I wish Deion would come to me as a man and talk to me," Bryant told ESPN Dallas. "I've been reaching out to Deion. I've never done anything wrong to Deion or disrespected him. I've never lied to Deion."

Though Sanders stopped mentoring Bryant more than a few months ago, this news send "Prime Time" over the proverbial edge and forced him to cut ties with him completely.

"I don't have a problem with you lying to me. That's one thing," Sanders said on the air Friday morning. "But when you lie to yourself as a man, you have a serious problem and that's where this kid is. And I can't condone it. I really can't. It tarnishes everything else I'm trying to develop in these kids [in his youth program]. I can't allow you to poison other kids that I'm trying to mentor and take to another level."

When asked if he would reach out to Bryant or speak to him Sanders replied, "I haven't spoken to the kid. I have no desire to speak to the kid. In regards to me, I can forgive, but I can't forget. You can't tarnish the other things that I have going on and the other kids. It's sort of like I can't allow something to poison the fruit of many other kids. I can't do it, so I cut off those ties a long time ago."

This is just the latest hit to the Cowboys' wide receiver. A player who came in with a lot of baggage and speculation he would be a problem.

Though it doesn't seem like he's had any negative affect on the field, his off the field problems have been what most would call a public relations nightmare for Jerry Jones. A man who had a lot of faith in Bryant when he drafted him out of Oklahoma State in the 2010 NFL Draft.

There's no indication if the Cowboys will punish Bryant internally and there's been no comment from Jones himself. But that probably has more to do with him worrying about the lockout more than a player's conduct off the field.

However, Jones won't be able to ignore this for long. Whether or not it will affect Bryant's status with the team may not be seen for some time.


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