NFL Interviews: When Attempting to Be Innovative Becomes Tasteless
Thursday, April 29th, 2010The NFL didn’t need another controversy but that’s exactly what it got when Miami Dolphins’ General manager Jeff Ireland conducted what was thought to be a personnel interview with wideout Dez Bryant.
Granted, Bryant’s had a checkered past and due diligence needed to be done, especially if the club’s going to shell out major cash. Possibly because Ireland wanted to find out the root cause of Bryant’s behavioral issues, possibly because he was trying to elicit a reaction from the receiver to a highly personal question, or possibly because he’s simply an insensitive pig, he decided to ask Bryant if his mother was a prostitute.
A little background: Bryant’s mother was 15 when she had him. His father was in his 40s at the time of his birth. Bryant’s mother, who had three kids by the time she was 18, was a cocaine, marijuana and PCP user, as well as someone who served a year-and-a-half for distributing crack. And Bryant himself has never been accused of being a choir boy.
But, hey, if you don’t want to sign the guy, don’t sign him. No matter what his upbringing or past has been, she’s still his mother - and anyone with an ounce of common sense or an iota of sensitivity would understand that’s an inappropriate question! Besides, would it have mattered what his answer was? What, exactly, was Ireland, or the Dolphins’ brass expecting, or better yet, hoping to discover? Whether he would lash out or if he’d show extreme poise in responding in a calm, yet firm tone.
When Bill Parcells interviewed with the Dolphins, did they ask him, “When you were a young boy, was your mother an obese blimp?” Same type of probing, reaction-seeking and completely senseless query.
Provocative or introspective questions aimed to gauge a potential employee’s reaction - as long as they are tasteful - are fair game and serve a purpose. What Ireland asked (or was directed to ask) was totally out of line and deserves more than just an apology. “Genius” is a word that’s long been used in football. As the old saying goes:
“The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.”�