04/19/24
April 27, 2010
Among job interview questions I'd hate most, : Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland asked Dez Bryant if his mother "was a prostitute". Bryant's mother, Angela, was fifteen years old when he was born, and has admitted to selling drugs to provide for her family. Yahoo columnist Mike Silver has written a scathing column condemning Ireland.
posted by Ufez Jones to football at 09:07 PM - 22 comments
I don't think it's a minor mistake to ask a guy if his teen-age mother was a whore. That's a major dick move from Ireland, and I can't see how pissing off a prospect as a character test helps the Dolphins in any way. Even if Bryant didn't lose his temper, would he want to be drafted by the team after that? He would have come to Miami with a grudge.
posted by rcade at 07:48 AM on April 28, 2010
So its okay to be questioned about a parent's behavior when the prospect himself had no control over that behavior?
posted by yzelda4045 at 08:35 AM on April 28, 2010
I thought the "scathing" column was far more assholeish than the interview question itself.
It's Michael Silver. I always want to like him because he was a good writer at SI and seems fairly hip to the Internet and actually replies to emails, but he seems to be a complete and utter asshole. Actually, he seems to be a guy playing a complete and utter asshole on the Internet for the purpose of collecting a salary, which is far more offensive to me.
That said, the question is unacceptable and just another glaring example of how BS the NFL interview/ draft process is. I watched more of the draft that I cared to in the interests of drowning out some awful houseguests this weekend; even so, I had to give up on it when Claussen got picked at 48 and Cory Chavous immediately mentioned he had Claussen ranked as the 48th-best player on the board. /pukes
posted by yerfatma at 08:52 AM on April 28, 2010
Stay classy, Ireland.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 09:30 AM on April 28, 2010
Do you know Corey Chavous' history, Yerfatma? He's been making complete draft boards since he was a kid and founded DraftNasty.Com for year-round draft coverage. When he was drafted in 1998, the press had fun asking Chavous where he had slotted himself. If he says he had Clausen at 48, I believe him.
posted by rcade at 10:00 AM on April 28, 2010
Had no idea. The site isn't responding, so I can't tell where he did have him ranked. Honestly, it doesn't make a ton of difference to me: he didn't mention where he had every other pick ranked. The fact he got one (or ten) right doesn't make the process any more of a science and his manner was disagreeable enough (though I appreciate he's a player looking for a new career if he doesn't get signed and wants to make an impression) I wouldn't want to listen to him if he got them all right.
Thanks for the info though.
posted by yerfatma at 10:23 AM on April 28, 2010
I didn't watch Chavous during the draft. I just know he's one of the biggest draft dorks on the planet. If he's disagreeable, that might explain why his career success as a TV draftnik has been mixed.
posted by rcade at 11:43 AM on April 28, 2010
Do you know Corey Chavous' history, Yerfatma? He's been making complete draft boards since he was a kid and founded DraftNasty.Com for year-round draft coverage. When he was drafted in 1998, the press had fun asking Chavous where he had slotted himself. If he says he had Clausen at 48, I believe him.
Looking at his site, Chavous did have Clausen at no. 48 on his "big board," but it's worth pointing out that his big board and mock draft were different (e.g., he had Sam Bradford at 32 on the big board, but being selected number 1 overall). And it's not as if the 47 people in front of Clausen (including two other QBs -- Colt McCoy and Dan LeFevour, both of whom Chavous ranked above Bradford as well) were drafted ahead of him. So essentially it was a coincidence/luck that Clausen was drafted at 48.
posted by holden at 12:33 PM on April 28, 2010
Mr. Ireland is lucky that a "scathing column" is all the damage he suffered for that question. Had it been me in that interview room, given Dez Bryant's age and physical abilities, Mr. Ireland would likely have been treated for serious facial injuries and a concussion. Even thinking about one's mother in those terms is just not done without instant physical retaliation, regardless of the consequences.
posted by Howard_T at 03:17 PM on April 28, 2010
What are you, from the fucking Stone Age? Don't you have school kids to go shoot for their shoes, Howard_T, or pop a cap in some niggas ass to teach him "respeck"?
If someone says something horribly insulting to you, you don't lash out in violence. You walk away from the situation and know that the person in question has revealed their character. That's how a *man* behaves.
posted by hincandenza at 03:40 PM on April 28, 2010
Don't you have school kids to go shoot for their shoes, Howard_T, or pop a cap in some niggas ass to teach him "respeck"?
You're right, Hal -- that shows me you know the true way to manhood. Your mom must be proud.
posted by wfrazerjr at 05:15 PM on April 28, 2010
Hey Hal - Your mom is a whore.
(I keed, I keed!)
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 06:17 PM on April 28, 2010
I'd expect to see more of this in and out of sports in the coming years. After all, what's a job interview without a curveball being thrown at prospective employees?
posted by Newbie Walker at 07:11 PM on April 28, 2010
Had it been me in that interview room, given Dez Bryant's age and physical abilities, Mr. Ireland would likely have been treated for serious facial injuries and a concussion.
Bryant would have to be an idiot to respond that way. Any young prospect who hit an NFL executive would never play a down in the league. Bryant stands to make around $15 million, including $9 million guaranteed, in a 4-5 year deal.
posted by rcade at 07:28 PM on April 28, 2010
First, asking a white prospect about playing a position dominated by blacks.
Second, asking if Mom was a prostitute.
What other stupid questions will be asked by these football schmucks?
posted by jjzucal at 07:36 PM on April 28, 2010
They'll ask lummox quarterbacks if they ever feel "rapey"
posted by tahoemoj at 08:13 PM on April 28, 2010
That's how a *man* behaves.
A man also properly apostrophizes the words he's trying to be shocking with. Your point would carry more water if you didn't regularly make over-the-top statements to carry a point. I find it difficult to believe you
1. Didn't get what Howard meant.
2. Don't take his point about what it's like to be young.
If Dez Bryant were half the problem everyone made him out to be for talking to Neon Deion, Jeff Ireland would be a lot worse off.
posted by yerfatma at 08:41 PM on April 28, 2010
Any young prospect who hit an NFL executive would never play a down in the league.
I find this difficult to accept as well. If anything, it might have made Jerry Jones (or Al Davis) more likely to draft him. Given the clamor for Pacman Jones, Michael Vick, et al, after their legal troubles, why do you think all NFL teams would blackball a player for taking a pop at some unknown GM after said GM asked an impertinent question? Actually, that raises an interesting possibility: given all the noise the NFL makes about their investigations and their security staff, there's no conceivable way Ireland didn't know the answer to that question, was there? Given that and Bryant's "reputation" coming into the draft, is it more likely Ireland asked the question to be provoking?
The only shock here is some NFL team isn't trying to get Rae Carruth paroled.
posted by yerfatma at 08:49 PM on April 28, 2010
Given that and Bryant's "reputation" coming into the draft, is it more likely Ireland asked the question to be provoking?
Interesting possibility, but there are better ways to gauge a player's character. LeGarette Blount's incident at the beginning of the season immediately comes to mind as one recent example if you have questions about possible character issues.
The NFLPA is going to take steps to ensure that these interviews are conducted "in a professional manner" in the future. Good luck with that.
posted by NerfballPro at 04:46 AM on April 29, 2010
Matt Millen just suggested the same idea as I did.
1. The ESPN anchor said it was the first time she'd heard the idea, which is obviously a lie.
2. Millen went on to say it was no big deal because players will say worse to him.
3. I am currently taking some online IQ and "have you had a stroke" quizzes just to make sure I'm ok.
posted by yerfatma at 02:26 PM on April 29, 2010
Now unnamed Dolphins sources are claiming Bryant offered that his father was a pimp. (Michael Silver's Twitter feed, around 1:30 PM EDT on 4/30).
posted by yerfatma at 01:49 PM on April 30, 2010
I thought the "scathing" column was far more assholeish than the interview question itself. That many column inches to rip on a guy for one relatively minor (albeit stupid) mistake, and he (the editorialist) keeps going to that same well far too often.
The interview question is neither egregious enough, nor am I hearing any supporting evidence of a 'pattern of behavior', to dissuade me from thinking this is one of those classic "Even nice people say dumb things every now and then" hatchet jobs from the gotcha media. I'm sure I'd fare far worse if all of my statements were held up to the public eye for vilification.