By NOMAAN MERCHANT
Associated Press
DALLAS— With training camp just two weeks away, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is in trouble again.
The talented wide receiver was arrested Monday after being accused of attacking his mother during an argument, hitting her arms and face. He faces a charge of family violence, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
The Cowboys had no comment on the latest stumble by Bryant since the Cowboys drafted him out of Oklahoma State in 2010.
Bryant had spent this offseason watching film, working on his conditioning and staying out of trouble off the field. Others noticed he was in better shape and more focused.
The 23-year-old Bryant surrendered Monday after police in DeSoto, south of Dallas, issued a warrant. Police said Angela Bryant called 911 Saturday to complain her son was assaulting her. Police arrived to find her with a swollen wrist and thumb and bruising on her upper arms, police Capt. Ron Smith said. She told police she had grabbed Dez Bryant’s shirt and he forcefully knocked her arms away, Smith said. Police say he hit her on the face with a ball cap and pushed her in the chest.
Bryant was released a few hours later without talking to detectives, Smith said. His attorney, Royce West, said Bryant posted $1,500 bond.
Smith declined to say Tuesday what caused the argument.
“I don’t know what the exact startup was, what caused everything,” Smith said. “I just know that his mother got involved and got injured.”
Police plan to send their case later this week to Dallas prosecutors, Smith said.
West said Tuesday that he was still investigating the circumstances of Saturday’s incident. One of his primary goals, he said, was to “make certain that the family heals.”
“I know that Dez loves his mother,” West said. “I know his mother loves him.”
West declined to say if Dez and Angela Bryant have spoken since Saturday or what may have caused their argument.
Drafted by the Cowboys in the first round, Bryant entered the league having his last year of college nearly wiped out by an NCAA suspension for lying about having dinner with Deion Sanders. He ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills on game tickets and jewelry — and was sued by alleged creditors. Last year, he was kicked out of an upscale Dallas mall for wearing sagging pants. In January, he was reportedly involved in a fight with the rapper Lil Wayne at a Miami nightclub.
“All of us have had some youthful indiscretions,” West said, adding that he questioned the truth behind some of the allegations. “We learn from those indiscretions and we move forward.”
Bryant’s potential has always been clear. A standout at Oklahoma State, Bryant caught 45 passes for 561 yards in 12 games in his rookie season. Last year, he had 63 catches for 928 yards and nine touchdowns.
He had mostly stayed out of the news this offseason, besides tweeting that his body fat was down to 3.1 percent. Owner Jerry Jones said in June that he saw more maturity and focus in Bryant, and quarterback Tony Romo predicted he would get better every year if he worked at it.
“I feel that I have learned a lot from all aspects, on the field, off the field,” Bryant said then. “I see a lot of things more clear now, and I’m more confident in everything that I do. On the field and off the field, I try to make the best choices possible, and I feel like I’m doing a great job of that.”
