Chad Johnson, Dez Bryant and the Hypocrisy of NFL Fans and Media

By now, we all know about the briefly employed Chad Johnson getting his walking papers from the Miami Dolphins earlier this week. It was broadcast on HBO’s Hard Knocks, so the whole world was able to see head coach Joe Philbin tell the former Ochocinco, “It’s not me. It’s you.”

With Johnson’s extensive history of prostituting himself for personal attention, there’s no coincidence that the headbutt heard round the world generated salivation simultaneously from the public and the media.

It certainly goes without saying the negative is more than justified. Johnson didn’t drop a pass or swear at a conference. He headbutted his wife, Eveyln Lozada. If 41 days of marriage produced a headbutt, imagine the dear presents of a lifetime.

Yet, while we collectively point our fingers at Johnson in shame, for whatever reason we turn our backs to Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant’s off-the-field domestic issues. 

Oh, you didn’t hear about this? He beat up his mother this summer.

Back on July 14, police were sent to Angela Bryant’s house in DeSoto, Texas, after receiving a 911 call.

Details are sketchy, but they range from an argument to Dez Bryant's striking his mother in the face and throwing her around like a rag doll (from NFL.com). All we know is that Dez was eventually booked on a misdemeanor domestic-violence charge.

However, we’ll likely never know the details, because Angela Bryant has decided to drop the charges.  Ms. Bryant’s attorney said, “Dez and his mother believe this is a family matter that can be worked out through counseling.”

Fair enough, but not really.

Obviously something happened that day. Why else would ESPN report that a six-minute 911 call exists? The Dallas attorney’s office might feel the same way, as they have said the case isn’t closed and that they’ll still investigate. 

But in reality, the ship has sailed.

There are two witnesses. One doesn’t want to press charges, and the other is the accused assailant.  Unless Dez Bryant confesses, the deal is done.

So, here we stand chastising the actions of Chad Johnson, with only a small blurb on the eighth page of the paper for Dez Bryant. 

Is it because Chad’s prospective team was featured on a national show during the time of the assault?  Maybe. Is it because Chad Johnson has been a magnet for self-loathing limelight his entire career? Possibly. 

Should any of that matter? Not at all.

Realistically, Bryant’s actions shouldn’t have taken a back seat to Johnson’s, regardless of his need for public adoration. A mother and a wife are two people that share a special place in each man’s heart. 

The actions of both Johnson and Bryant are unforgivable and downright heinous.

Over the last decade or two, it’s become quite clear that football has taken over baseball for national supremacy. Game day has become a holy day, causing mass migrations to sports bars and comfortable recliners. We breathe the game, and we celebrate the players.

Now that Chad Johnson is a wife-beater who's unemployed, he has become insignificant refuge to us.  Bye, Chad. Don’t forget to “kiss the baby” on the way out.

Moving along, the 2012 NFL season kicks off with a stand-alone game on a Wednesday between the New York Giants and Bryant’s Dallas Cowboys. The same guy who roughs up his mother on a July afternoon will be on center stage for the world to see. You and I will be watching along with millions of others. Either rooting as fans or trying to see spreads covered: We’ll be watching.

I wonder if Lozada or even the forgotten Angela Bryant will be watching.

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