Sean Lee Says Dez Bryant 'Needs to Hold Himself Accountable' After Twitter Rant
July 28, 2018
After being called a "snake" by former teammate Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee has responded.
Lee did not fire back with any name-calling of his own, but he did share his vantage point of the situation, via Pro Football Talk's Charean Williams:
"First thing to say, that I can get anybody off the team and have any input on a roster is absurd. The second thing [is] I love Dez, and I want the best for him.
"You know, to be honest, we did butt heads, because I wanted Dez to be more accountable to this team and his teammates. To be honest with you, a lot of the team felt that way. I think he needs to look at himself and hold himself accountable."
Dallas Executive Vice President Stephen Jones caught the free-agent wideout's attention by going on SiriusXM NFL Radio and saying quarterback Dak Prescott was in a tough spot last season because he had Bryant (and tight end Jason Witten) "in his ear":
SiriusXM NFL Radio @SiriusXMNFLHere's the audio from the Cowboys Stephen Jones about @DezBryant from our training camp stop today... "He's gotta trust the system, which at times last year, there was pressure.. with Dez in his ear and to some degree Jason in his ear. Those great players want the ball" https://t.co/DmjugEtU2c
Well, Bryant didn't appreciate that "scapegoat s--t." He subsequently took to Twitter to speak his piece:
Dez Bryant @DezBryantHere we go with that scapegoat shit.. i charged everything to the game and went the other way.. y’all know what the real problem is .. don’t put it on me with that bullshit.. garbage ass play calling.. Everybody lined up in the same spot for 17 weeks.. 🛑 😂 https://t.co/YhG4cAPx6O
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller followed that tweet storm up by revealing he had spoken to "a couple of Cowboys players" Friday night. Unfortunately for Bryant, they were happy he was no longer in the locker room:
Matt Miller @nfldraftscoutTalked to a couple of Cowboys players this evening. To summarize: 1. Players I talked to are glad Dez is gone. 2. They collectively felt a player of Dez's reputation needed to be a better leader. 3. Instead of being a leader, they felt Dez was neg. influence on young players
That, of course, led to the ex-Dallas star looking for names:
Jones later clarified his comments, per Williams, to say he did not intend his initial remarks to be negative.
While Bryant, 29, is coming off an 838-yard, six-touchdown campaign, he has yet to find a new home since being released in April. He only spoke up because his name was brought up by his former organization, but any interested team may look at this and wonder if the receiver will be too much of a distraction.