Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

[Coach Sal]

I've personally maintained that Jeff Ireland was not out of line when he asked Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute. Any logical person wouldn't believe the question just popped up between "what is your favorite color?" and "Did you like the movie Avatar?" There had to be a reason it was asked, and a context it was asked in.

Today, an African American writer, Jim Trotter (and yes, his color is important in this story as it has been implied by many the Bryant question was racial-stereotyping) writes in SI.com that the question was not asked nearly in the same context as had been originally portrayed:

Ireland's logical follow-up question to Bryant not worthy of outrage

Even in the no-holds-barred world of the NFL, where a head coach can get a free pass after using the female pronoun her to describe a male player, Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland took a moon leap out of bounds when he asked Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant during a pre-draft interview if the player's mother used to be a prostitute.

Or did he?

Two sources familiar with the situation contend that Ireland's question was nothing more than the logical follow-up to comments Bryant had made about his family. According to the sources, Ireland began the meeting by asking Bryant, 21, about his upbringing and his relationship with his siblings. Then he asked what Bryant's father did for a living when Bryant was growing up. The following exchange allegedly ensued:

"My dad was a pimp."

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

"She worked for my dad."

"Your mom was a prostitute?"

"No, she wasn't a prostitute."

Ireland apologized Tuesday for asking what has been described as a classless, offensive and potentially illegal question. But if the incident went down as described by two members of the Dolphins organization, Bryant should be the next to repent because there was no need for this story to go from a controlled burn to a raging wildfire.

more...........

full article:

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

[DraftBoy]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

The question itself is not the issue, no moral or ethical boundary was crossed. The intent was not to determine if his mother was a prostitute or not but rather illicit a reaction.

Its a psychological question used to determine somebody's maturity and mental stability. Ireland could of, and in my opinion should have, worded it much better. He should of known as soon as he said the question that if it leaked it would be a **** storm and it has been.

That being said the question is not off limits, its just a poor question. The better question to ask is; "If your child was kidnapped and you knew who did it and could get to them, would you call the police or take matters into your own hands?"

These questions really need to be asked by somebody with some psychology training, as the response in terms of word usually means very little compared to the body language, time it takes for a response to generate and other such unnoticed tendencies people have.

These questions have no right or wrong answers, because the question asker doesnt care about your answer.

[Mudflap1]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

This should be such a non-story. Bryant has baggage, and teams are vetting whether they should pay him $20+ million guaranteed. Repeat, $20+ million, not $20,000 or $200,000. That's a lot of risk for a business to take. They should be allowed to do as much of a background search as they need to. That said, it looks like Bryant walked into the question anyway, which means he is a drama queen/diva for blowing this story way out of proportion. If the shoe fits, wear it.

[wmoz11]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

So two sources from the Dolphins told Trotter this? It may be true, but the Dolphins have a lot to gain by this less-malicious line of questioning coming out.

[Nighthawk]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

I'm in HR and trust me, it is NEVER appropriate to ask that question...NEVER! If it gets to a point where that needs clarification, then you ask him to clarify...not assume she's a prostitute! Anybody who thinks it was alright, obviously does not understand the HR/Legal side of asking such a question.

[DraftBoy]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

I'm in HR and trust me, it is NEVER appropriate to ask that question...NEVER! If it gets to a point where that needs clarification, then you ask him to clarify...not assume she's a prostitute! Anybody who thinks it was alright, obviously does not understand the HR/Legal side of asking such a question.

But are you looking at it from a tangible job question? Because that's not why he asked this question. It has nothing to do with his answer, its a more indepth and complex personality test question, similar to asking somebody "If you could be a peice of furniture, what would it be?"

[Pinkerton Security]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

I did wonder how the hell this would ever come up in a conversation like this, and there had to be a reasonable explanation. It was obviously a bit out of line, but is not as big of a deal as everyone is making it out to be.

[wmoz11]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

"That's bull****," the source told Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports. "It didn't go down like [the Dolphins are implying it did]. There's nothing to say. If a guy calls and apologizes, what else is there to add on? Enough said. [The apology] confirmed [Bryant's version]. The apology was accepted, and now it's time to move on."

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/04/30/source-close-to-bryant-says-dolphins-leak-is-********/

And here's Bryant's camp (with nothing to gain, mind you) denying that this is how it went down. Just as I suspected...the Dolphins leaked the (false) info to Trotter to save face.

[Bill Cody]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

I'm in HR and trust me, it is NEVER appropriate to ask that question...NEVER! If it gets to a point where that needs clarification, then you ask him to clarify...not assume she's a prostitute! Anybody who thinks it was alright, obviously does not understand the HR/Legal side of asking such a question.

I'm sure you're right but I'm struggling to come up with a logical answer to what the mother could have done as an employee of a pimp other than be a hooker. Bookkeeper?

If you're about to hand a 22 year old kid a check for 10m and he says his dad was a pimp and his mom worked for him, you don't want to get to the bottom of that? It sounds whacked. And I'd have jumped to that conclusion myself to be honest.

[Ron Burgundy]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

I'm sure you're right but I'm struggling to come up with a logical answer to what the mother could have done as an employee of a pimp other than be a hooker. Bookkeeper?

Maid, homemaker, cook, dishwasher, car washer, landscaper, tax consultant, personal assistant, toenail cleaner, walking coat rack...who gives a ****?

He knew what he was asking and why. And he ****ed up.

If you're about to hand a 22 year old kid a check for 10m and he says his dad was a pimp and his mom worked for him, you don't want to get to the bottom of that? It sounds whacked. And I'd have jumped to that conclusion myself to be honest.

Well, that's why you'd be apologizing in the press the next day...or looking for a new job.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

Its a psychological question used to determine somebody's maturity and mental stability. Ireland could of, and in my opinion should have, worded it much better. He should of known as soon as he said the question that if it leaked it would be a **** storm and it has been.

should have

[Coach Sal]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/04/30/source-close-to-bryant-says-dolphins-leak-is-********/

And here's Bryant's camp (with nothing to gain, mind you) denying that this is how it went down. Just as I suspected...the Dolphins leaked the (false) info to Trotter to save face.

So we should automatically assume the Bryant side is telling it exactly right? Gimme a break.

The reason Ireland apologized was probably because the PC police were all over it the minute it came out somewhere. That's not uncommon.

[wmoz11]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

So we should automatically assume the Bryant side is telling it exactly right? Gimme a break.

The reason Ireland apologized was probably because the PC police were all over it the minute it came out somewhere. That's not uncommon.

Yes. They have nothing to gain, as they showed in the rest of the quote stating that it's basically a dead issue in their eyes.

The Dolphins look horrible in this mess so their "transcript" of the events is much less credible.

[Coach Sal]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

I'm in HR and trust me, it is NEVER appropriate to ask that question...NEVER! If it gets to a point where that needs clarification, then you ask him to clarify...not assume she's a prostitute! Anybody who thinks it was alright, obviously does not understand the HR/Legal side of asking such a question.

Is it ok for a prospective employer to ask me if I do drugs?

To ask me if I have any family members in jail?

To ask me how my parents' divorce effected me growing up?

What does the HR handbook say is ok for someone to ask and not to ask when they are deciding to pay me millions and millions of dollars to represent them and their company for the next 5 years?

To say it's "never appropriate to ask that question" is kind of vague. I'm interested in what areas/questions are appropriate and which ones aren't?

[billz83]

Re: Other side of the Dez Bryant interview/question comes out

Bryant should have whipped out a 45 and pistol whipped the **** outta him! They lucky they didnt ask people like me that kinda question..he woulda got his head blown CLEAN OFF..