Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant decided to speak on his personal life Wednesday in regards to his relationship with his mother and ongoing attitude problems.
Bryant recently came to the realization that he needed to change his act after a recent summer arrest. On July 16, Bryant was arrested for a Class A misdemeanor family violence charge, for an alleged physical confrontation with his mother Angela Bryant.
Last week the Dallas County district attorney’s office shifted the charge to a conditional dismissal. Under the dismissal, the charge will be dropped as long as Bryant attends anger management counseling and is not charged with any crimes for a year.
The 24-year-old Bryant says that even after the arrest, he and his mother still have a great relationship.
“I don’t want to get into it much, but what happened in our eyes, it was overblown,” he said. “I love my mom. My mom loves me. Everything is great between us.”
Bryant was not permitted to discuss the situation because strict rules created by Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and his adviser David Wells given to him this summer.
The stipulations issued by Jones and Wells are appreciated by Bryant because he did not have structure in his childhood. Bryant’s childhood was dysfunctional, partly because his mother had him at the age of 14. His father was in and out of his life, which caused him to jump from home to home until attending Oklahoma State.
Bryant does not use his troubled childhood as an excuse for his behavior, but more as learning lesson.
“It’s different,” he said. “I just feel like it’s been a learning process for me my whole life, and I’m just getting to it.”
Bryant is the father of two sons Zane, 5, and Dez Jr., 2, and trying to be the best role model for them.
“I got real responsibilities I feel like I’m handling the right way,” he said. “I’m enjoying my life the way I should have been enjoying it a long time ago.”
Jones selected Bryant with the 24th overall pick despite off-field issues prior to the draft. The Cowboy’s owner sees the all-around growth that Bryant is doing in his life.
“The point is, without trying to be cute, Dez is improving,” Jones said. “But the risk is here that he’s on the field in the glaring spotlight for the Cowboys and off the field for the Cowboys. So I’m reluctant — we all are — to say, ‘Boy, Dez is doing good.’ Dez is doing better.”
Bryant, who has 57 receptions for 735 yards this season, realizes the incident this summer was a sign that he needed to improve his maturity.
“Small, positive things turn into big, positive things,” Bryant said. “As long as I keep doing the right things, all the things that happen are positive things.”
