Jeff Ireland was wrong, but why is this even a story?

Its B.S.

Silver blew this thing way out of proportion (as did many people on here) just to try to make a name for himself. @ss.

But I think this sentence:

And Ireland did offer an apology, saying that he “used poor judgment” and “meant to disrespect.”

Should read “meant NO disrespect”. Nitpicking, I know, but there’s always someone who reads that and gets confused.

It wasn’t anything until Silver and Florio ran with it……

tell it’s the off-season in the NFL.

For goodness sake, is it Saturday yet? I need me some rookie minicamps.

Check out his replies to the comments, some were in poor taste but some were legitimate where he goes off on a political/racial rant. Funny, but the dude thinks his shit ain’t stinkin’.

I can understand the apology but I can understand the question as well if you consider the result. That question was leaked previous to the draft and I’m sure that was all the Dolphins needed to know that his emotional state was not onw they wanted to deal with. Pure speculation on my part but I doubt Ireland just came up with the question. I’d imagine it’s from some kind of information that they knew could come up in the future or a team psychologist provided Ireland with the question. I doubt Ireland is just sitting up in bed at night thinking of the most insulting questions he can ask.

If Silver had reported it with some class he might be coming off better here but by directing the readers with his feelings and misled comments he just comes off as a person with motives.

The quick approval from the Cowboys to call Bryant shows they wanted no part of this situation. Frankly they might be happy Ireland asked because I’m sure Bryant’s bitching to Silver about it could have contributed to his fall to them at 24.

if he used this tact on Incognito?

the quote you were looking for is “people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”

The question is admittedly inappropriate and inexcusable, and it’s debatable whether it’s downright offensive or not. Yet it’s somehow not a news story?

I think you mean that it shouldn’t lead to media outrage, or that it shouldn’t cause a witch hunt against the Dolphins. I’d agree with both of those points. But the fact that a player was asked something that many could find offensive is obviously newsworthy these days.

Just consider he was the only one caught with his pants down. Every team does this, and because every team does this it is something that is widely understood by agents and athletes. He wasn’t out there knocking groceries out of grandma’s arms and selling cigarettes to kids. The point is to push buttons. The irony of all this is that he was most likely doing this on Dallas’ behalf!

I got to work today to see Dan LeBatard interviewing Mike Silver and instantly rolled my eyes. All I could think was how Silver must be having the best day of his career by publicly chastising someone while only getting half of the story. Why should there be room for compassion or even a little understanding on his part? I can’t say what we discussed when the interview was over, but I can say that your view of this article was shared by more then one person behind the scenes at the station. I wish someone had the gull to call Silver out on the air…

So thank you for giving the ‘whole story’ (not just Silver’s story) more dimension. I only wish that as many people that read Silver’s article would read this one.

I would bet my house that Ireland DIDN’T say “Sooo…was your mom a prostitute?” but I can see him saying “Dez we’ve all heard your very troubled past where it’s been said that your mother conceived you at age 12 with a 40 year-old man with no rape charges being filed and then being incarcerated for selling drugs,did he force her into prostitution as well?” which I would have to wonder myself.

In Armandos article he said friends and family said Dez was conceived when his mother was 12,his pedophile father was 40,she had 2 other kids within three years after the birth of Dez and was convicted of selling drugs so any sober minded person would be wondering exactly what in the hell was going on in this situation.

Some here simply hate this FO and it wouldn’t have mattered if Ireland would’ve said “So Dez,IF we give you millions of dollars are you and your friends going to be rolling up in a limo everyday to the facility?” they would go off on him over that too so I expect nothing less from the ones who question their every move to begin with.

No Mr. Ireland, I don’t believe our mothers ever worked together.

Out of everyone here and all the crying in this forum the only person who actually put up a legitimate response and did not resort to hating on people’s opinions was firedanhenningnow. The only good comment on here.

http://twitter.com/RealMikeSilver

When asked about the interviews Marshall smiles and says, “they did their due diligence, and doesn’t give any insight as to what questions they asked” My question at that point was what exactly does that mean??? Someone asks Bryant a question he doesn’t like and he cries about how Ireland mistreated him and how he was hurt.

 When asked about the interviews Marshall smiles and says, "they did their due diligence," and doesn’t give any insight as to what questions they asked" My question at that point was what exactly does that mean??? Someone asks Bryant a question he doesn’t like and he cries about how Ireland mistreated him and how he was hurt.

…….became pregnant in high school as a freshman and was a mother of 3 by the time she was 18. She sold crack and abused weed, PCP, and Cocaine (where were her 3 kids during all of this??). She was thrown in jail for 18 months where Dez would visit her. He was 10ish at the time. CLEARLY she made bad decisions. There are some character issues with his mother and those undoubtedly affected Dez as he grew up. If I am potentially investing millions of dollars in a person, I am going to have a lot of questions about where he came from and where he is at now…..who he surrounds himself with, his family situation, etc. While I would consider no questions off limits, I would carefully word them. I would not say "Is your mom a prostitute?" I would ask what she is up to now and investigate further with questions like that.

Jeff Ireland and the Miami Dolphins had every reason to be concerned about Dez’s mother….her past and her present. As his mother, she helped make him into the person he is today. Would there have been off field distractions with her if he DID become a Miami Dolphin? What kind of psychological issues arose from a childhood filled with drugs and a single mother he visited in jail? What kind of family situation is he in now and how does it affect his character?

Clearly the Miami Dolphin head office is not the moral police (see Ricky Williams). But if they are potentially investing millions of dollars in a player with a suspect past like this, there are going to be some tough questions that need to be answered. (Do you think Brandon Marshall did not have to answer some tough questions before they signed him?) There were legitimate concerns which were questioned poorly. I stand behind Jeff Ireland and the entire Miami Dolphin Organization.

People get asked worse questions on a polygraph test to be a cop. This stupid kid comes in to make millions of dollars and Ireland asks him a straight up question to make sure this is the guy he wants on his team.
Dez almost dropped out the first round because he couldn’t believe there would be crazy questions in an job interview. Have fun Dallas!!! Hopefully he doesn’t cry during practice.

I’ll tell you why…

Calling Ireland’s question ‘inappropriate’ is like saying driving 120 on the freeway is, ‘inappropriate’.

In fact, it is an illegal question much like going 3x the speed limit is illegal, not merely inappopriate. And why does this matter?

Because it gives everyone a glimpse of what draft prospects are subjected to, how the NFL works, and how some of it is illegal.

That the kids themselves, being 21-22 years old oftentimes still answer these questions doesn’t make the line of questioning anymore legitimate or legal for that matter.

Before I get the ‘oh but they are getting paid X, therefore teams can ask anything’…no they can’t actually. Moreover, people who a) have far more responsibility/power and control over the lives of others cannot be asked such questions legally, and b) people who get paid far more than football players, similarly, cannot be asked such questions.

Trouncing someone’s legal right to privacy via unethical and illegal questions in the name of ‘scouting’ or ‘doing our homework’ is absurd.

was dez bryant’s mother a prostitute or not? why is this question even considered inappropriate if there are accusations that she, in fact, might have been a prostitute. If you are going to pay a man a multi-million dollar contract, trust him to manage his life, and build healthy, productive relationships with the other members of the team (as well as people outside the team) then I would want to know about his mother and his father. I would want to know if there are any reasons why he might have a grudge against women (mommy issues) to avoid a situation like the Steelers have right now with Ben Rape-lisberger. Dez better get used to scrutiny if he intends to become one of the better wide-outs to ever play the game.

If her past is any suggestion to her true personality and intention then she’s setting herself up to be taken care of. Who know who will see her with money and try and take advantage of that.

Whether she was a prostitute or not that doesn’t stop some scum bag from threatening his mother with allegations. She led a crazy life and who knows what kind of pictures exist of her and how those pictures could be used agains’t her.

If I was of questionable judgment, had a drug problem and had some kind of incriminating or embarrassing pictures or video of Angela Bryant then I would most likely try to use them for gain. I’m just being honest when putting myself in the shoes of a character like that.

It would be one thing if she wasn’t around anymore and wasn’t going to financially gain from Dez but she is.

Maybe the question was worded, “How would you react if someone accused your mother of being a prostitute?”.

If she was high off her ass then she wouldn’t even remember having a video or pictures taken or maybe she wasn’t aware in the first place. Either way that doubt exists which leads to someone trying to take advantage of it. Suggesting prostitution on the part of the person trying to gain isn’t that far fetched and Bryant’s reaction by crying about it should tell you how close to the truth it likely is.

3 of his last 4 articles for Yahoo are about Bryant in some capacity. It seems he has a vested interest.

Nevermind asking that question, even thinking that was relevant to a team/player discussion sounds like he has a screw loose, in my opinion.

It’s silly to see everyone piling on Silver and pulling the lame “blame the media” card. I’m not sure if anyone’s aware of this, but Mike Silver has a big name and he’s had one for a long time. He wrote for SI. He’s on frequently on Yahoo! Sports’ front page and they’re the most visited sports site on the internet. If he’s got an agenda, it’s not to get his name out there. It already is.

The fact that NFL execs can act like a bunch of dumb jocks and push kids around in the pre-draft process is maddening. They’re treated like slabs of meat through the entire process. Pro football or otherwise, this is neither appropriate nor defensible and a forced apology doesn’t change that. Dez Bryant’s reaction to a question about his mother being a prostitute has ZERO bearing on his composure, maturity or anything else. It’s way too far. A discussion of the culture perpetuated by nonsense like this is worth having and it’s Mike Silver’s job as a journalist (and a good one, at that) to use his platform to foster that discussion.

..I would’ve kicked Jeff Ireland in the teeth. I’m a die-hard phins fan, but that was just beyond disgusting. Look at it this way—If I was a player on the Dolphins, and I found out about this—I would never look at Jeff Ireland the same again. It’s a morale killer for the team as far as perception of their leadership is concerned justified or not. Props to Bryant for not naming names, and for exorcising amazing restraint after being asked that question.

But the story was reported poorly by Silver. It should have been treated solely as a hard news story, not a column to rip Ireland. It should be up to the secondary outlets to opine on it, not the first news source (which Ireland was). Yahoo should have held the story, had the facts rewritten by someone else and then publish Silver’s opinion on it later.

a classless A-list A-hole, or both?.

If you read Silver’s article and his responses to the comments, it seems inescapable that he is concerned only with himself and the commotion he can generate. Maybe that’s how he got to be a ‘big name’.

A true journalist doesn’t descend to the depths he does in both the reportage, opinion and responses to comments.

The most repugnant thing I take away from his rant is the image of Gerald McCoy wearing a thong.

Ireland asked a question (we’ll never get beyond a guess as to why – but there are some good guesses above) and it was answered. Now he’s requested an apology and it was accepted. I have to agree with Matty1. This should be an end on it – but we know it won;t be.

 Yes, I am a white, Christian, heterosexual male Not that it matters – but I’m guessing in Siver’s world that’s worse than being an olive-skinned, androgynous, atheistic narcissicist..

Also needed to be said.

Rec’d.

This is such a stupid topic because it contains no context.

Some readers are just certain that the line of questioning went like this:

“Were you late for practices and meetings?”

“Why could you not tell the truth concerning the meetings with Deion?”

“How would you best describe your work ethic?”

“HAS YOUR MOTHER EVER BEEN A PROSTITUTE?”

……………and that’s exactly how peckerhead Silver wrote the article.

But if a young man was sitting in front of you telling you about his upbringing…….

“She was only 12 when she had you?”

“She was taking narcotics while you were a youth?”

“Did she ever prostitute herself to support her drug habit?”

and even this short blurb doesn’t do justice to what may have been discuss in an interview that was quite possibly over an hour. You just do not know the context of the question. You do not know if Ireland was acting as prosecutor or acting as a concerned HUMAN BEING for a young person that has been through alot in his young life.

I don’t think Ireland really thought about this question before he asked it and he admitted as much when he apologized. I hope it was not because he’s getting complacent and lazy on the job.

Let’s look at it this way, there are two answers to this questions and two options for Ireland to take. Either Bryant’s mom was a prostitute, or she was not. Ireland could have either asked the question, or he could not have asked the question.

If the answer to the question was an affirmative, and Ireland decided to ask the question, then what? Do we decline to draft him because we’re afraid that there will be a public relations nightmare in the media? (Seems we are teetering on that edge now) Is there a follow up question that we don’t know about that would have given us great insight into the mind of Dez Bryant? It seems there is very little reward in this scenario.

If the answer to the question was an affirmative and Ireland did not ask the question, then what? If we did take Bryant on draft day and this did come out later, it could instantly become a positive light on how Dez Bryant was able to overcome a childhood many of us could never understand and the story quickly falls out of the media. No one really cares what Michael Oher’s mother is doing right now, Oher has established himself as a respectable individual in his own right, Dez will likely do the same. I can actually see more good coming of this that bad.

What if the answer to the question was a negative, as it turned out to be, and Ireland did ask the question. Well we see how various media outlets are picking up on it and trying brand the Dolphins organization as classless. We see how it can hurt, how could it have helped? Some have suggested that it gives us an idea as to how Bryant would handle such an incident on the field. Unless Ireland has a degree in psychology or took some serious time to study the manner, I’m not sure I would trust his psychological evaluation of a player based on this question in an interview setting. Does his calm and cool answer of “no” make us want to draft him any more than before? I don’t see any positives coming out of this outcome either.

What if the answer was a negative and Ireland didn’t ask the question. All of this would be moot, Silver could go on bashing his readers without trying to take the Dolphins with him and we could go on talking about whether or not we think we have a starting safety on the team.

If you think this was done to protect the Dolphins’ image, ask yourself how it has ended up affecting us as events have played out. Will this make it more difficult for us to attract top free agents in the offseason? Will future draft picks dislike us so much, they choose to loose a year of football to avoid the team? Probably not, but we are running that risk. Had we not asked the question, what were the chances we were selecting Bryant anyway? I would say slim before the Marshall trade and none after. If I were hedging my bets to protect my organization’s image, I don’t think I would have asked this question knowing that the negatives that could have come from it far outweigh the positives.

Ive been listening to sports radio all day and all day its been about Dez Bryant and our GM. From wqam,790,640,940….they’ve been takin calls all day from 8 till now. I think this situation is gonna change how things work in the draft in regards to questioning a player and there past. The nfl union might step in also. This is not looking good

Let me just play devil’s advocate:
Say you have a daughter (maybe you already do, I don’t know). Somehow through good fortune, 15 or 20 years from now, you land a high-paying gig at a big company that you consider “high profile”.
There are “rumors” that your daughter is/was a prostitute. Maybe the company does a background check and uncovers this possible info.
You would think it would be fine if they asked you if your daughter was a prostitute?
How would that make you feel? Do you think it would be ok then?