Dez Bryant says $55,000 dinner struck him the wrong way, inspired him to change things
By Mike Dyce
During the 2013 season, the hazing scandal in the Miami Dolphins locker room took center stage in the NFL for a few weeks. Part of the hazing offensive lineman Jonathan Martin endured was financial in nature, and there were reports that Dolphins veterans used rookies like ATM machines.
It brought back memories of the famous $55,000 dinner Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was forced to pay for when he wasn’t being as receptive to the rookie hazing during his first year in the NFL. During the latest episode of Back To The Show, which airs Tuesday, June 3, at 8:30 PM ET on FOX Sports 1, Bryant and other athletes discussed various topics with rapper Snoop Dogg and one of the issues was hazing.
During that discussion, Bryant recounted that $55,000 dinner and talked about how he didn’t appreciate it and he decided to be the change in the locker room instead of continuing the tradition.
“The way I look at that is some guys do it just to be [expletive],” Bryant said in comments distributed by Fox Sports. “I paid $55,000 for a dinner, and it struck me the wrong way. I could’ve easily went off on every last one of them, but I didn’t. I kept myself together, and I wanted to change that. So you know what I did, went out there and did my thing. Now they’re allowing me to call the shots.”
Bryant went on to explain how some players mentalities and competitive drive change once they get paid.
“Everybody’s mind is different. Everybody’s got a different way of expressing themselves to the game,” Bryant said. “Like me, I love the game. I don’t even think about the money until it’s time. A lot of guys aren’t like that. All they care about is the check that will keep them moving. Like I tell a lot of guys in that locker room, [expletive] the talent – confidence and effort, that’s all you really need. You’ve got to believe.”