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This summer, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was charged with a Class A misdemeanor for allegedly slapping his mother during an altercation.
All signs from the DeSoto Police Department pointed to Bryant being charged and facing up to a year in jail. At least that was the speculation until Wednesday when Bryant struck a plea deal. Bryant’s case, according to his attorney and Texas state senator Royce West, has been moved to conditional dismissal should he fulfill the requirements set forth by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.
It basically means that Bryant’s charges will end up getting dropped if he completes general counseling, which includes anger management classes and if he can stay out of legal trouble for a year.
“Mr. Bryant understands the seriousness of this incident,” West said. “He has already started seeing a counselor for anger management.”
So now the question is, can Bryant stay out of trouble for a year? In a time where more and more athletes are getting in trouble, can Bryant actually fulfill those requirements? I’d like to think so, but at the same time my gut says it will be a hard road to travel for Bryant.
Along with not going to jail or facing charges, it doesn’t appear that the NFL will suspend Bryant either. While it bodes well for the Cowboys, does it bode well for the NFL?
In fact, there were more arrests of NFL players this off-season than I can count on my hands and toes. Yet the NFL hasn’t handed down many suspensions, if any at all. Is this the message the NFL wants to send out?
I imagine that because of the “Bounty Gate” and all the time and effort being placed on that issue, these other not so high-profile incidents are being swept under the rug. Whatever the case, I would like to think that the NFL would hold its players accountable for their actions.
In my opinion, the message basically says, you can get in trouble and not face any consequences. Regardless of whether a player thinks he’s a role model or not, America’s youth sees these things happening. They see these players getting in trouble and not having any type of repercussion and could easily interpret it as being ok to do.
I’m hoping Bryant cleans his act up not only because he has to, but also because he’s a father and there are kids, teenagers and adults who all look up to him.
Jesus Flores is a Dallas Cowboys writer for www.RantSports.com Follow him on Twitter @SSgtFlo1
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