Is your Mother a prostitute?

[illwauk]

When people are acting like paying a guy millions of dollars justifies invading his personal life... you know, like they own him... the racial overtones aren't exactly trivial. Or at least they shouldn't be.

But I brought up Roethlisberger for a reason... NO ONE would've thought to ask him something like this, yet hindsight being 20/20, what he's being accused of probably a better reason than anything in Dez Bryant's past to ask if someone's mother is turnin' tricks.

[Sodboy13]

Pretty sure they do the whole "come out in your underwear so we can analyze you like the piece of meat you are" thing to the white boys, too. And, sorry, but with the ever-increasingly invasive and pervasive news cycle, a player's personal life is, quite literally, a team's business. It's got nothing to do with racial overtones.

And for the sake of comparison, if I were to make a major misstep in my personal life while in my current line of work, there's a good chance it would draw the attention of at least one major columnist in this city, and that my employers would have to take action because of it. And I only pull five figures.

[illwauk]

Funny you should mention that because as the NFL has gotten more "ethnic," the procedure for physical exams have gotten more and more like what used to be done on the auction block... such is the knowledge you gain over a summer when you take Sociology of Sport and Race Relations in the Antebellum South, but only want to do one final exam paper

That said, I'm not saying that the NFL is studying slave-auctioneers journals or even that Bryant's race is definitely the reason he was asked that question. But I am saying that the possibility should be examined... especially when our society is so race-obsessed that people automatically picked that out of my post when I mentioned it right alongside class and religion.

But what is frustrating me is how quick people are to excuse Irleand's (and ultimately, the NFL's) morally-objectionable practices on the basis that it's "just business." As if there were something stopping the NFL (which has by far the most influence on the sports-media in North America and possibly the world) from saying "our employees are grown ass people with their own lives which you shouldn't be looking towards to raise your kids and live vicariously through."

[BBTV]

When people are acting like paying a guy millions of dollars justifies invading his personal life... you know, like they own him... the racial overtones aren't exactly trivial. Or at least they shouldn't be.

But I brought up Roethlisberger for a reason... NO ONE would've thought to ask him something like this, yet hindsight being 20/20, what he's being accused of probably a better reason than anything in Dez Bryant's past to ask if someone's mother is turnin' tricks.

You're looking for racism where there isn't any.

As someone said, ONE transgression can cost a guy 4 - 6 weeks of playing time, so you have a right and an obligation to find out if there is anything going on in a guy's life that could cause him to get into trouble, be around trouble, or have personal issues that distract from his ability to play.

Here's the part that people are overlooking - just like in any job interview, he doesn't have to answer the question. If he feels like it's an invasion of privacy, he's fully able to just say so and ask that they move on to the next question. It wouldn't be the smartest thing, but on the other hand, maybe it would show that he's mature enough to blow off something that he feels upset about and just move on, which would show that he can handle the media. I don't know.

It's cute that you use all caps, like you know something. "NO ONE would've thought to ask him something like this..." look - I've "known you" on these boards for a long time. I know that you're not one of the dopes around here, and generally make really good points. But I think you're incredibily off base here. Ben didn't have documented issues with his family and / or friends, nor did he have a red flag on him coming out of college. Of course nobody thought to ask him those questions - there was absolutely nothing that could possibly have prompted them. Had he had an arrest for s3xual assault under his belt, then they would have had a right to ask him questions about that. Just like they had a right to ask Bryant about his mother. Not necessarily the prostitution part, unless he answered a previous question in a way that hinted at it and maybe he demonstrated some kind of emotion during the interview. I don't know. None of us do.

[illwauk]

I agree... and let me say for the sake of clarity that I'm not saying these questions should have been asked about Ben either. And if Dez Bryant had any similar red flags (I'm not sure if he did or not), then I would agree that it would be reasonable for Ireland (or whomever) to ask about them. But Ireland was asking about his mother's past, not his.

And if his mother was a prostitute, then what... is something that may have happened before Dez was even born supposed to justify, say, paying him less money or giving him a earlier curfew during road trips? Social overtones aside, I'm not seeing a practical reason for even asking something like that.

[Jigga]

Pretty sure they do the whole "come out in your underwear so we can analyze you like the piece of meat you are" thing to the white boys, too. And, sorry, but with the ever-increasingly invasive and pervasive news cycle, a player's personal life is, quite literally, a team's business. It's got nothing to do with racial overtones.

And for the sake of comparison, if I were to make a major misstep in my personal life while in my current line of work, there's a good chance it would draw the attention of at least one major columnist in this city, and that my employers would have to take action because of it. And I only pull five figures.

Jay Mariotti?

[BB61]

Pretty sure they do the whole "come out in your underwear so we can analyze you like the piece of meat you are" thing to the white boys, too. And, sorry, but with the ever-increasingly invasive and pervasive news cycle, a player's personal life is, quite literally, a team's business. It's got nothing to do with racial overtones.

And for the sake of comparison, if I were to make a major misstep in my personal life while in my current line of work, there's a good chance it would draw the attention of at least one major columnist in this city, and that my employers would have to take action because of it. And I only pull five figures.

Jay Mariotti?

He said columnist, not clown.

[Sodboy13]

Just for sake of reference on the Roethlisberger comparison, remember that when he was drafted, in 2004:

- Video cameras on cell phones were in their infancy

- Facebook had just started and was set up mainly as a college networking tool

- Twitter didn't exist

- Neither did Deadspin or TMZ

- "Pay-for-play" journalism was shunned by most mainstream media

- Michael Vick was one of the league's poster boys

Only six years ago, but when set against the norms of today, 2004 might as well have been 1964. Nearly everyone's got a camera phone nowadays, and plenty of those people know that if you catch someone famous doing something stupid, there's money to be had. And pro sports GMs no doubt know that the likelihood of hitting the fan has skyrocketed, and that it's going to spread a whole lot faster and wider. So it shouldn't come as too much of a shock when one of them crosses the line in the C-Y-A portion of the interview. Still stupid, absolutely, but not surprising.

If Big Ben was coming out in the '10 Draft instead of the '04 Draft, and was trying the same scumbag moves, you'd have heard the phrase "plagued by character issues" more times than you could count. Fortunately for him (at least until a couple months ago), he came out in the age of "I heard about this from my friend who was drunk at a party with him", and not the age of the iPhone.

[The_Admiral]

Oh look illwauk is chiming in with the racism angle today is a day unlike any other on the CCSLC

[illwauk]

dude... get a girlfriend...

[The_Admiral]

I'm sorry, but you were reaching on that one.

[infrared41]

Pretty sure they do the whole "come out in your underwear so we can analyze you like the piece of meat you are" thing to the white boys, too. And, sorry, but with the ever-increasingly invasive and pervasive news cycle, a player's personal life is, quite literally, a team's business. It's got nothing to do with racial overtones.

And for the sake of comparison, if I were to make a major misstep in my personal life while in my current line of work, there's a good chance it would draw the attention of at least one major columnist in this city, and that my employers would have to take action because of it. And I only pull five figures.

Jay Mariotti?

He said columnist, not clown.

There's a difference?

[illwauk]

Just for sake of reference on the Roethlisberger comparison, remember that when he was drafted, in 2004:

- Video cameras on cell phones were in their infancy

- Facebook had just started and was set up mainly as a college networking tool

- Twitter didn't exist

- Neither did Deadspin or TMZ

- "Pay-for-play" journalism was shunned by most mainstream media

- Michael Vick was one of the league's poster boys

Only six years ago, but when set against the norms of today, 2004 might as well have been 1964. Nearly everyone's got a camera phone nowadays, and plenty of those people know that if you catch someone famous doing something stupid, there's money to be had. And pro sports GMs no doubt know that the likelihood of hitting the fan has skyrocketed, and that it's going to spread a whole lot faster and wider. So it shouldn't come as too much of a shock when one of them crosses the line in the C-Y-A portion of the interview. Still stupid, absolutely, but not surprising.

If Big Ben was coming out in the '10 Draft instead of the '04 Draft, and was trying the same scumbag moves, you'd have heard the phrase "plagued by character issues" more times than you could count. Fortunately for him (at least until a couple months ago), he came out in the age of "I heard about this from my friend who was drunk at a party with him", and not the age of the iPhone.

I give you 50 points for a interesting read, but I'm still not seeing anything that would justify asking a guy if his moms is turnin' tricks. Maybe it's time for the NFL (and other major pro leagues) to admit that this is a new era and no amount of scrutiny is gonna shield the people who buy tickets and watch games on TV from the fact that athletes are human beings who occasionally make bad decisions in their personal lives (or have family members who do).

Bottom line is, no ones gonna not renew their season tickets because a the prostitution status of a rookie wideout's mother is hazy. And if someone DID decide to give up their tickets for that reason, either the franchise is way out of touch with its fans or maybe it's time to have some dignity and admit that your multi-million dollar operation can do without money from people who are trashy enough to be concerned about something like that.

[BBTV]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jim_trotter/04/30/dez.bryant.jeff.ireland/index.html?eref=sihp

Bryant: "My dad was a pimp."

Ireland: "What did your mom do [for a living]?"

Bryant: "She worked for my dad."

Ireland: "Your mom was a prostitute?"

Bryant: "No, she wasn't a prostitute."

[The_Admiral]

Well, now that it's in context, it sounds like some rather humorous dialogue!

[Sodboy13]

Well, if true, this makes Bryant's suuposed seething outrage at the time of the question pretty hilarious. Freely admit that your dad was a pimp and your mom worked for him, then get offended when asked if your mom was a prostitute? That's a couple of deductions in the "Logic & Reasoning" portion of the analysis.

[illwauk]

That is pretty hilarious if true, but the fact that the sources are unnamed makes me think this may just be the Dolphins organization covering its arse.

[aci]

Hahahaha wow, for a while there I thought this Ireland guy was a Class A jackass for asking if Bryant's mother was a hooker... now Bryant comes off as a total moron.

[The_Admiral]

-My dad was a pimp.

-What did your mom do?

-She worked for my dad.

-Your mom was a prostitute?

Seriously, this is an excerpt from your favorite single-camera no-laughtrack alternative sitcom. I can't get over it.

[Sodboy13]

-My dad was a pimp.

-What did your mom do?

-She worked for my dad.

-Your mom was a prostitute?

Seriously, this is an excerpt from your favorite single-camera no-laughtrack alternative sitcom. I can't get over it.

Needs more Ron Howard narration.