Dez Bryant Meets With the NCAA to Apologize, Ask for Leniency

Dez Bryant traveled to Indianapolis yesterday to meet with the NCAA in hopes of reinstatement. The Oklahoman reports:

In a letter to NCAA officials, Bryant explained why he lied about his interaction with former NFL player Deion Sanders, apologized for the lie and admitted he deserved to be punished but asked for leniency with regards to the severity of the punishment.

Bryant was in Indianapolis on Tuesday with his lawyer, Willie Baker, and OSU compliance officer Scott Williams. The meeting was the next step in the appeal to have Bryant reinstated after the All-America receiver was ruled ineligible last Wednesday for a violation of NCAA Bylaw 10.1.

As for Bryant’s letter to the NCAA, the Oklahoman provides some excerpts below:

“I am very, very sorry I did not tell the full truth when I talked with Mr. Wilson in July,” Bryant said in the letter.

“There is no one else to blame, I just panicked because I was scared and afraid I was in trouble. Mr. Wilson asked about meeting Deion Sanders. I denied that I had ever met him at Fieldhouse USA. That was not the truth.”

So, to review: it’s still unclear as to whether Dez Bryant ever violated the NCAA rules with his interactions with Prime Time. But in lying to investigators regarding those interactions, he violated a separate piece of NCAA legislation, and opened himself up to suspension. Even though he may have done nothing improper throughout the course of those interactions.

Hmm.

The exact wording of the bylaw(pdf) he violated:

10.1.: Unethical conduct by a prospective or enrolled student-athlete or a current or former institutional staff member (e.g., coach, professor, tutor, teaching assistant, student manager, student trainer) may include, but is not limited to, the following: (Revised: 1/10/90, 1/9/96, 2/22/01)
(a) Refusal to furnish information relevant to an investigation of a possible violation of an NCAA
regulation when requested to do so by the NCAA or the individual’s institution;
(b) Knowing involvement in arranging for fraudulent academic credit or false transcripts for a prospective or an enrolled student-athlete;
© Knowing involvement in offering or providing a prospective or an enrolled student-athlete an improper inducement or extra benefit or improper financial aid; (Revised: 1/9/96)
(d) Knowingly furnishing the NCAA or the individual’s institution false or misleading information concerning the individual’s involvement in or knowledge of matters relevant to a possible violation of an NCAA regulation;

It continues from there, but because “d” is the section Bryant violated—and in the interest of averting a headache—we decided to cut the excerpt short. Aren’t NCAA bylaws fun?!