Is your Mother a prostitute?

[NJTank]

Well I am surprised this has not gotten any play here yet, but apparantley Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland askled Dez Bryant if his mother was a Prostitute.

I guess it says allot for Bryant's self control that Ireland still has all his teeth.

Any way he appologized, but it seems kind of wrong that he does not at least get fined for this. I don't think he should lose his job over it but its kind of embarassing as a Dolphin fan.

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/news/story?id=5140313

[philly97flyer]

What do you expect from a guy with the last name Ireland? Go have another beer and a shot of whiskey, Mickey Mouse.

[Cujo]

What would make someone ask such an ignorant question? I hope this costs him his job, although it probably won't with Tuna running the show.

[Jigga]

It won't cost him a job, a penny, or one second of further thought.

[DEAD!]

I figure, for his next job, the interviewer should ask him the same question...

[BBTV]

To be fair, we don't know the context in which it was asked. Not that there is ever a logical point in a conversation to ask that question, but it could have had some relevance based on a question that was just answered, something Bryant said, or for some other reason.

When you're considering investing millions of dollars into someone, you have an obligation to find out everything you can about them, especially if there are outside things going on that could have an influence on where his head is and could affect his play. If his mom is on drugs, or is a prostitute, then it's reasonable to at least have to consider that she could get arrested, or OD, etc., which could have an impact on the player who you are paying a ton of money to.

If someone just comes out of left field with a question like that, then it's disgraceful. In this case, I think people should at least consider the reasoning behind it and be open to the notion that there may have been some context in which it was a legitimate question to ask. Either way, sounds like he cleared things up with Bryant, which is always a good thing.

[charger77]

Once again BBTV sums it up pretty well.

-Dan

[sc49erfan15]

I kinda assumed that the point of the question was to test Bryant's self-control. (In which case, he passed.) I'm sure you hear much worse on an NFL field, and I'm sure NFL coaches want as few 15-yard penalties as they can get.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's kind of what I was thinking.

[Jigga]

It's not right...I don't give a damn what the circumstance was. So because Dez Bryant was eligble for the NFL Draft, anyone associated with the NFL can ask him whatever the hell they want? :censored: that. That's garbage.

[dfwabel]

Well I am surprised this has not gotten any play here yet, but apparantley Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland askled Dez Bryant if his mother was a Prostitute.

I guess it says allot for Bryant's self control that Ireland still has all his teeth.

Any way he appologized, but it seems kind of wrong that he does not at least get fined for this. I don't think he should lose his job over it but its kind of embarassing as a Dolphin fan.

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/news/story?id=5140313

The 49ers' team psychologist asked a personal questions to Matt Stafford regarding the divorce of his parents and losing focus. I feel this is similar. Mike Singletary, "If you're going to look at drafting a guy in the first round," Singletary says in the interview, "and you're going to pay him millions of dollars, and asking him about a divorce about his parents, if that's going to be an issue, then you know what, maybe he doesn't belong here."

To be fair, we don't know the context in which it was asked. Not that there is ever a logical point in a conversation to ask that question, but it could have had some relevance based on a question that was just answered, something Bryant said, or for some other reason.

When you're considering investing millions of dollars into someone, you have an obligation to find out everything you can about them, especially if there are outside things going on that could have an influence on where his head is and could affect his play. If his mom is on drugs, or is a prostitute, then it's reasonable to at least have to consider that she could get arrested, or OD, etc., which could have an impact on the player who you are paying a ton of money to.

If someone just comes out of left field with a question like that, then it's disgraceful. In this case, I think people should at least consider the reasoning behind it and be open to the notion that there may have been some context in which it was a legitimate question to ask. Either way, sounds like he cleared things up with Bryant, which is always a good thing.

Tank, read this article from the NYT (yes, please read it even though it is the NYT) and you will see where BBTV is coming from. She admits to being broke, selling drugs, and using them. Sadly, it is not that far of a stretch to think that she would sell her body for money or drugs.

Oct 2008 NYT Story on Bryant

Angela Bryant became pregnant as a freshman in high school, had three children by age 18, sold her first crack rock for $20 at 19, and spent 18 months in jail for distribution of crack cocaine. She said that she used marijuana, PCP and cocaine...

So at 19, Bryant started selling crack cocaine and marijuana. She justified it, thinking she had to sell drugs to survive. ?I know it?s not right, but I have to do it,? Bryant said....

While selling drugs, Bryant also started using them. She smoked marijuana for the first time at 19 and later used heavier drugs. She insisted she was never addicted to drugs, but acknowledged that she sometimes came home high. She did not think Dez ever knew.

[NJTank]

I know it did not come out of left field but I still feel a little uncomfortable with it. Though I agree he should not be fired.

[charger77]

It's not right...I don't give a damn what the circumstance was. So because Dez Bryant was eligble for the NFL Draft, anyone associated with the NFL can ask him whatever the hell they want? :censored: that. That's garbage.

If he wants their millions, the answer is yes.

-Dan

[dfwabel]

Bryant told Mike Silver (Yahoo! Sports) last Wednesday, and it later became to light that it was Ireland. I have a feeling that Bryant and Eugene Parker knew that he was going to fall out of the top ten for various reasons, and will use this in an attempt to get more money than his "slot", like what Parker tried with Crabtree last season.

[Jigga]

It's not right...I don't give a damn what the circumstance was. So because Dez Bryant was eligble for the NFL Draft, anyone associated with the NFL can ask him whatever the hell they want? :censored: that. That's garbage.

If he wants their millions, the answer is yes.

-Dan

Nope, still garbarge, sorry. I knew the all-to-common "if they're paying X millions, they can do whatever they want" refrain would be used to easily rationalize this bull:censored:, but it's just not good enough for grown folks with the capacity to think for themselves.

[charger77]

If Bryant or any other player does not want to answer questions as personal as that one then maybe they should find a way to put their college degrees to good use.

Sports is not the real world. The entire draft/interview process/combine is completely different from the rest of the real world.

To me, this kind of questioning goes with the territory. Owners are making HUGE investments into these players. They need to be sure that they wont be head cases and need to know what type of baggage they may be bringing with them.

If owners are willing to pay first round type money, and players are willing to accept first round type money, then this line of questioning will continue.

Lets put the Bryant issue to the side...

I can imagine that every draftable player has been informed by their handlers (agents, advisors, etc..) that during this process they will be asked a lot of crazy questions. I think it is safe to assume that the players are aware that crazy questions will be asked. I'd be willing to bet a pay check that questions in line with this one and even some crazier than this one were asked to other players during the process.

-Dan

[Gothamite]

It's not right...I don't give a damn what the circumstance was. So because Dez Bryant was eligble for the NFL Draft, anyone associated with the NFL can ask him whatever the hell they want? :censored: that. That's garbage.

If he wants their millions, the answer is yes.

-Dan

Nope, still garbarge, sorry. I knew the all-to-common "if they're paying X millions, they can do whatever they want" refrain would be used to easily rationalize this bull:censored:, but it's just not good enough for grown folks with the capacity to think for themselves.

Disagree.

I think the question was probably insulting, but I don't know the manner in which it was asked. I do know that his mother served time for selling drugs, so any potential legal difficulties she may have while he's wearing their uniform is, and ought to be, fair game.

[Jigga]

It's not right...I don't give a damn what the circumstance was. So because Dez Bryant was eligble for the NFL Draft, anyone associated with the NFL can ask him whatever the hell they want? :censored: that. That's garbage.

If he wants their millions, the answer is yes.

-Dan

Nope, still garbarge, sorry. I knew the all-to-common "if they're paying X millions, they can do whatever they want" refrain would be used to easily rationalize this bull:censored:, but it's just not good enough for grown folks with the capacity to think for themselves.

Disagree.

I think the question was probably insulting, but I don't know the manner in which it was asked. I do know that his mother served time for selling drugs, so any potential legal difficulties she may have while he's wearing their uniform is, and ought to be, fair game.

The manner in which is was asked is irrelevant. It cannot justify the asking of the question. Jeff Ireland is an intelligent enough dude to ask about mom's legal trouble in a wholly inoffensive and less vulgar way.

[Jigga]

If Bryant or any other player does not want to answer questions as personal as that one then maybe they should find a way to put their college degrees to good use.

Sports is not the real world. The entire draft/interview process/combine is completely different from the rest of the real world.

To me, this kind of questioning goes with the territory. Owners are making HUGE investments into these players. They need to be sure that they wont be head cases and need to know what type of baggage they may be bringing with them.

If owners are willing to pay first round type money, and players are willing to accept first round type money, then this line of questioning will continue.

Lets put the Bryant issue to the side...

I can imagine that every draftable player has been informed by their handlers (agents, advisors, etc..) that during this process they will be asked a lot of crazy questions. I think it is safe to assume that the players are aware that crazy questions will be asked. I'd be willing to bet a pay check that questions in line with this one and even some crazier than this one were asked to other players during the process.

-Dan

What degrees?

You're bringing in issues that have nothing to do with this, -Dan. No, sports is not the real world, and I'm not even going the whole, "you can't ask that question in a job interview" route. I'm saying you can't ask that question, period. Job interview, draft interview, 60 minutes interview, on someone's facebook wall, whatever.

[Gothamite]

The manner in which is was asked is irrelevant. It cannot justify the asking of the question. Jeff Ireland is an intelligent enough dude to ask about mom's legal trouble in a wholly inoffensive and less vulgar way.

So which is it? Is the subject off the table entirely, or is it fair game so long as the question itself isn't vulgar?

[Corvus]

If you're going to justify this with the "investing millions in a player" rationale, do you also think that if a player's mother is a prostitute they are actually going to admit it?

The thing to do if a team actually cares about the answer as opposed to the player's reaction to the question, is to have the player's family investigated.