Former NFL wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson believes former Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant has gotten a bum rap in the run-up to the draft.
And although he didn’t name any names, Johnson blames at least one of his own ESPN colleagues for that bum rap.
“It pisses me off to listen to some of these [draft analysts] talk about Dez,’' Johnson told Don Banks of SI.com. “I heard someone on the network I work at say his stock is going to be questioned because his mother was a former drug user or seller. Are you kidding me? Are you serious? Because his mom did that, therefore his stock will drop?
“I think anybody who judges him and who he is based on his family, it’s ridiculous. He’s getting hit with a lot of stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with who he is as an individual. It’s OK for Colt McCoy to hang out with the Manning family and work out with them, but as soon as Deion [Sanders] hangs out with Dez Bryant, it’s an issue. What kind of double standard is that?’'
I’m not sure which draft analyst said on ESPN that Bryant’s stock is going to be questioned because of his mother, but I hope that whoever it was, ESPN has him do an on-air, draft-day debate with Johnson about Bryant. I know I’d tune in.