Dez Bryant Must Have Thicker Skin When Dealing with Hecklers

If Dez Bryant wants to have a long, successful NFL career, he needs to have a better head on his shoulders away from the field. Notably, when some random person is looking for a fight, Bryant can't give it to them. This applies to all athletes and celebrities in general. 

Robert Littal of Black Sports Online is reporting that Bryant was involved in an altercation at Miami's LIV Nightclub. In another report from Littal, it was reported that Bryant was being heckled for debts, as well as the Cowboys' failures.

A part of being a public figure is that you're going to see hecklers in public. They don't represent the best of our society, but they're a part of it. When you throw alcohol into the mix, it's an even bigger part.

There are a lot of factors at play. Someone wants to show off to their friends (or a girl), maybe he wanted to prove how tough he is by beating up a pro athlete, maybe he's looking for a lawsuit and wants to get beaten up by a pro athlete or maybe he's just a jerk.

Whatever it is, when you are a public figure, you have to have extremely thick skin. The only possible excuse for actually getting into an altercation is if you feel that your safety, or the safety of your friends or family, is in imminent danger. Then, you have every right to do what's needed to defend yourself.

But if it's just words, you have to be able to let them go. Some words are more hurtful than others, and it's not always easy to let it go, but it has to be done.

In doing this, Bryant opened the door for further hecklers to try to do the same thing. They now know they he can be annoyed, so it's open season. There is no shortage of these people in the world, especially at bars or clubs. 

Athletes are allowed to go to clubs or bars all they want. They're adults, that right is not in question. But if they're going to go to such public places, especially when alcohol is a big factor, they need to show better self control than Bryant did. 

Even if this altercation was just verbal, it still sends a message to hecklers everywhere that Bryant is an easy mark. The last thing you want to be in public is a target. Look at what happened earlier in the NFL season with Rex Ryan and a Patriots' fan. 

Warning: Video contains foul language

Obviously, we can't go back in time, but Bryant needs to show better maturity than this in the future. This is not a label that any player wants. If he doesn't, his career will be significantly shorter than his talents would have you believe.

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