Commentary: After questioning of Cowboys’ Dez Bryant, Dolphins GM needs training in professionalism

Comments towards highly talented receiver’s mother are bogus.

dallascowboys.com

Dez Bryant at Oklahoma State

Welcome to the NFL, rookie. Before going under the lights at an NFL stadium, it seems all draftees have to go under another light, an interrogation light. At least that’s what the Miami Dolphins organization thinks, anyway.

The Dolphins, like all other NFL teams, held pre-draft interviews with top prospects to see what kind of investment each player would be. For former Oklahoma State player and #1 pick of the Dallas Cowboys Dez Bryant, his time with the Dolphins quickly went south.

General Manager Jeff Ireland asked Bryant if his mother was a prostitute earlier in life. What in the name of Vince Lombardi does that have to even do with the game of football?

The question only serves to humiliate the player and not to inform the Dolphins on the risks of investing millions of dollars in a spectacular wide receiver who was dragged through a desperate childhood.

If anything is damaged here, it is Ireland's reputation. By asking an ugly question in a private interview, he clearly acted as if nothing he said would ever become public. Now that it has, Ireland has apologized to Bryant and anybody else who thinks him an insensitive pompous thug. A moment of poor judgment is Ireland’s rationale, but it's far worse.

Using poor judgment is drinking the last of the milk and then putting the empty carton back in the refrigerator. Talking about someone mother in a derogatory context goes beyond disrespectful.

The Dolphins organization should feel lucky that they still have a general manager – not because the Dolphins' upper echelon or the NFL could have easily punished Ireland. No, they should feel lucky that Bryant didn’t clean his clock, like others might have.

This raises a larger question about the entire pre-draft interrogation process. Why ask personal or character questions at all? With all the money that NFL teams spend on investigating players and with all the information that is available on every U.S. citizen via public records, players aren't going to rat themselves out on potential problems that aren't already known.

If Ireland is worried about what kind of investment the Dolphins are getting into, maybe he needs to check out the ones he has already invested in: players like Ricky Williams who has tested positive for marijuana use and suspended, or Jason Ferguson who has been suspended for eight games this upcoming season for using performance enhancing drugs. There's also Brandon Marshall, who is known for his pouty attitude and not being a team player.

When next year’s pre-draft interviews come around, Ireland should skip the process altogether and go with his gut. We all know now that using his head is out of the question.