Not everybody in Big D was happy to hear of the terms of the new behavioral guidelines agreed to by the Dallas Cowboys and troubled wide receiver Dez Bryant.
Former Cowboys great Drew Pearson has been outspoken in his beliefs that such rules are not only absurd for a professional football player, but also do that player harm in the long run.
Dallas’ original No. 88 was adamant that the policy does nothing to make Bryant grow up and better prepared for life after football.
The stipulations to which Bryant agreed took effect on August 23, when the team returned to Texas from its three weeks of training camp in California.
Among other things, they mandate that Bryant adhere to a strict midnight curfew, while abstaining from alcohol or visits to any nightclubs or strip joints.
Additionally, Bryant must attend twice-weekly counseling sessions, while always under the watchful eye of his own security personnel. Bryant’s adviser, David Wells, will hire the security team for the receiver.
“I don’t think this situation is a good situation as far as Dez is concerned,” Pearson told a local Dallas radio station on Monday. “I don’t like it. He’s a grown man. He’s 23 years old. A grown man has to be restricted and told what to do? You’re supposed to be a professional.
“You’re playing in a multi-billion dollar industry, for one of the recognized sports franchises in the world, and you can’t be man enough and mature enough to handle that yourself? You have to be told when to be in. You have to have people go with you. You have to have people drive you to practice and make sure you’re in the right place at the right time. … As soon as the Cowboys are done with him or the NFL is done with him, all these things they’re doing for Dez right now are not going to help him in life after football. And that’s my biggest concern.”
Pearson said the restrictions make it apparent that the Cowboys believe their former first-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State is immature.
But Pearson would rather see Bryant forced to grow up rather than be coddled by the organization.
“I’m saying,” he said, “ ‘Why can’t Dez adjust to this?’ Why can’t he become a man?”
