From Ireland With Love

With the 24th overall pick in the NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys found themselves selecting a wide receiver out of Oklahoma State -- Dez Bryant. Regarded as the best WR in the draft, Jerry Jones' Cowboys weren't the only team to show interest of coarse. With a trade just days earlier that saw WR Brandon Marshall ditching the high altitude of Denver, Colorado for the sunny beaches of Miami, the Broncos were in need of a young wide-out to help fill the void of Marshall's absence. With the 25th overall selection, the Broncos were just one pick away from selecting Bryant. But that was before his name was called one pick earlier by commissioner Goodell, as Denver would eventually settle for Florida Gator QB Tim Tebow.

But prior to the draft itself, Dez Bryant met with numerous teams in a pre-draft interview. One specifically was with the Miami Dolphins. Meeting with Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland, Bryant was asked what his father did in the job-field, with Bryant answering, "My dad was a pimp." Ireland then asked Bryant what his mother did. Bryant answered, "My mom worked for my dad." Then came the million dollar question. "Your mom was a prostitute?", Ireland asked. The question angered Bryant and has been talked about ever since, creating quite the controversy. With ESPN and every other major sports network covering the story, it wasn't long before Bryant's mom received the news of Ireland's personal question. Mrs. Angela Bryant who was previously in prison on drug charges for selling crack cocaine in 1997, told the media that once they couldn't find any dirt on her son, that they brought up her charges of 12 years ago.

But after a wide-spread investigation, it's been learned that Mrs. Bryant has had more than one run in with the law and a lot more recent than 12 years ago. Records show she was also arrested in April of 2009 after selling crack cocaine to police informants. And in August of last year, she was found guilty for two felony counts for possession of a controlled substance and the manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance. In result, she was sentenced to 10 years' probation. Also worth mentioning is the young age she gave birth to her son. Dez's mother was only 15 years old at the time. Regardless of her more lengthy legal troubles than she admitted to, Angela Bryant demanded an apology from the Dolphins GM himself. Ireland has since then apologized as seen here:

"My job is to find out as much information as possible about a player that I'm considering drafting. Sometimes that leads to asking in-depth questions. Having said that, I talked to Dez Bryant and told him I used poor judgment in one of the questions I asked him. I certainly meant no disrespect and apologized to him. I appreciate his acceptance of that apology and I told him I wished him well as he embarks on his NFL career."

According to Bryant, Ireland wasn't the only one who asked him questions about his mothers past. He said he sat there and answered a handful of questions aimed towards his mothers drug use. My question is, so what if Mrs. Bryant was a prostitute, what does that have to do with anything football related? What surprises me most is that someone would even ask that question. And if Bryant's future wasn't at stake, I'm sure he would've taken the guys head off. At least that's what I'd do...