Dolphins on leaked version of Dez Bryant question: "Don't know where it came from"
Posted by Mike Florio on April 30, 2010 12:21 PM ET
At times over the past hour, I've felt like I'm trapped in a bad episode of
The Twilight Zone.
Eight days ago, Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports asked the Dolphins for comment as to the contention that G.M. Jeff Ireland had asked receiver
Dez Bryant whether his mother is a prostitute. Three days ago, without the benefit of any response from the Dolphins or an opportunity to interview Ireland to obtain his side of the story (including the all-important "context" of the question), Silver reported that, indeed, Ireland asked the question.
Ireland quickly apologized, with speed that now makes more sense given that the team had known for five days that Silver's report was coming. At no point until today did the Dolphins attempt to provide their version of the events.
Even now, the Dolphins officially are saying nothing. Reached for comment as to the report that Ireland asked about Bryant's mother only after Bryant said that his father is a pimp and his mother works for him, team spokesman Harvey Greene said via e-mail, "Don't know where it came from -- we haven't talked about this since Steve Ross' statement."
Of course, Greene didn't admit that the leaked version of the events is true. But he didn't deny it, either.
And because the team has opted to push its side of the story via multiple media leaks and not by manning up and telling the story in an on-the-record setting, we're not inclined to accept it at face value.
The problem, of course, is that Bryant has a documented history of lying. Still, he has provided his version of the events in his own words, straight from his own mouth. The Dolphins are, apparently, hiding behind off-the-record remarks, and they're benefiting from writers and reporters who are too happy to get the scoop to question whether they're being fed something that rhymes with the word.
Am I upset about this? Yes. Because the approach assumes that we're all too stupid to do anything other than accept the team's leaked version of the events as the absolute truth.
Frankly, I'd be less offended if they'd simply call up and ask if my mother was a prostitute.