The Dallas Cowboys are now in the business of babysitting and the more I think about it, I don’t have a problem with it. Their young star wide receiver Dez Bryant has had his share of problems staying out of trouble. He was arrested in July for the alleged assault of his mother, reportedly got into a fight with Lil Wayne at a Miami nightclub last January, and has been sued by various creditors for running up thousands of dollars in bills on game tickets and jewelry. That’s a pretty busy 9 months.
Here we are one week from the kick off of the NFL season and the Dallas Cowboys (well, Jerry Jones) have decided if Dez is going to screw up it’s not going to happen on their watch. The Cowboys have created a ‘support system’ (that’s putting it kindly) with a strict set of guidelines, which in theory should keep Dez Bryant out of trouble this season. Bryant will have a full time security team (not guard…team), he will attend weekly counseling sessions, and not be allowed to drink alcohol or visit strip clubs. Sounds like the life of most married men right?
At first blush, this sounds ridiculous, however, the more I think about it, I don’t blame the Dallas Cowboys for taking this approach. Let’s not forget, NFL teams are run like a business. The players are the assets. It’s in the best interest of Jerry Jones to protect his assets by any means necessary, especially the really good ones. Keeping Dez Bryant out of trouble means keeping Dez Bryant on the field, which means winning games on Sunday. I understand the concept of self-accountability, but let’s be honest, there are some guys who just don’t get it and need a support system around them to stay clean.
So what was the Cowboys inspiration for developing this plan for Dez? I can only speak as someone that has lived in Atlanta for the past 16 years. Here you need to look no further than the pro football franchise to understand how bad things can get if you don’t create a support system around a star athlete. The Atlanta Falcons have actually been through this twice: first with a young hot shot rookie named Brett Favre and of course most recently with Mike Vick. Each had their own off the field issues. For Favre it was the partying and drinking in the Buckhead bars whenever he wasn’t required to be on the football field. With Mike Vick it was sneaking away to Virginia to run Bad Newz Kennels, where he bred and fought pit bulls. Both players were eventually run out of town. Although being sent to Green Bay is a little bit different then Leavenworth Prison….so I’ve heard anyway.
Imagine if the Falcons had implemented the same strategy the Dallas Cowboys did with Favre or Vick. Could it have changed the fate of a franchise? Would Brett Favre have been the Atlanta Falcons quarterback for the last 2 decades? Perhaps. What about Mike Vick? Might he still be sporting the red and black? It’s too hard to say. Everybody reacts differently to structure and discipline. For some, it’s a necessary evil on a personal path to change. For others it makes them want to rebel even more. We’ll never know how this type of program the Cowboys have created would have worked in Atlanta. There is no guarantee it works on Dez Bryant.
The Cowboys are typically under extra scrutiny every season, so if this program does works, other franchises might take notice. Grown men with babysitters. How ‘bout them Cowboys!
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