Dez Bryant and the Hypocrisy of Main Stream Media

I have been watching all the stuff that has been unfolding  with the Dez Bryant issue and how mainstream media is not trying to “Try him in the court of public opinion."   Bryant was arrested on Monday for misdemeanor assault against his mother. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/17/dez-bryant-accused-of-grabbing-his-mom-by-the-hair-and-hitting-her/    I am not going into the details about it because the article does that.   This is nonsense, though, and something needs to be done ASAP.

There has been more to come out about this incident and the more that comes out the sicker I am getting.  For one, why are mainstream media outlets like ESPN and others giving him a free pass on this?  I was watching ESPN's First Take this morning and was appalled at the garbage that Skip Bayless was saying.  Yes, I know all the facts had not come out at that point and that they did not want to pass judgment.  But in the same segment he was talking all about Bryant’s mother's past run-ins with the law and he basically said we shouldn’t judge Bryant.  Well I beg to differ.  To me, that is hypocrisy at its finest. You can't condone one while excusing the other.

Where was all this “Not Judging in the Court of ESPN First Take” and other sports news outlets when Ben Roethlisberger was accused but never charged?  ESPN led the charge in pretty much destroying Ben’s reputation, and was basically screaming for Ben’s head on a platter even after the facts came out.  Ben was suspended due to the media fueled “Trying in the Court of Public Opinion”.   I for one did support Ben’s suspension, not because I believed he was guilty, but because I believed he needed a kick to the pants that Goodell delivered. And, if you'll notice, we have heard nothing bad about him since.

 So why does Bryant get a free pass with the media  for hitting his mother?   This is the wrong message you are sending, in my opinion.   It was basically said that it is ok.  Here is the link to the first segment, but the other one was not posted, and if it had been, you would see what I am talking about.  http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8173281   

 I am not going to quote something I cannot back up, but being a victim of domestic violence, I was appalled at the words in the second segment.  I am so sick of this issue being made of light of, intimating that it is ok to hit women, just because she has a record.  That is the message I got and it made me want to throw up.  It is not ok to hit any woman, let alone your mother. Period.  I do not care what the circumstances are.  That is the woman that gave you life, has cared for you, and is always there for you.   I do not care that she had a past record.    Women are not punching bags no matter how you try to spin it.  The media's constant picking and choosing of who gets a pass has gotten out of hand.  If you are going to damn one player to hell, the same rules need to apply to all of the players.    Just because he has never been arrested does not make it ok for you or anyone else to condone violence towards women.  Bryant is not the first athlete that has gotten this free pass for domestic violence, there have been several.   It needs to stop.  

According to them, we are supposed to turn the other cheek, so to speak, because this is his first arrest.  Well, where was this turning the other cheek on other athletes that you have harped on while making other players the poster boys of bad behavior?    Oh, that's right they  did not hit women and all they had against them was allegations and no facts.   But I guess that is ok to damn them to hell?  Right?

This is the wrong message because it slaps in the face true victims of assault, especially women that have been victimized over the years by men.  I feel that Goodell needs to address this and address this quickly, and not give him a free pass.  He has shown a pattern of bad behavior over the years and it is escalating.  Goodell said he does not need an arrest to suspend a player, if they show a pattern of bad behavior he can suspend.  Well, now is the time to show it Goodell.  Don't join in with the media led “turning the other cheek” and basically condoning violence towards women.  That should not be the message you want to send considering women make up a big part of the NFL fan base.  

I will end this with what Stephen A. Smith said in the second segment.  He did not condone it, he looked at it the way I did, “If it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck, it isn’t no Mongoose."