Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant Loses Final Appeal, Officially Enters NFL Draft

He might as well, right? ESPN’s Joe Schad has the announcement.

“This year didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” Bryant said. “It was so hard. And to be honest I had my head down at times. But the NCAA has made their decision. And I respect that. And now I’ve made mine.”

“When I talk to the NFL I’m going to be truthful with them about what happened,” Bryant said. “It will be what I’m supposed to tell them, which is the truth.”

“I love the game,” Bryant said. “I have a passion for the game. Football is what I do. And any NFL team that I play for is going to get great effort.”

Dez Bryant’s last hope of playing college football this season is gone after the NCAA denied Bryant’s final appeal today. Bryant was suspended for the past five games, but had hoped to play this year pending the result of an appeal. If you ever wondered what Bryant’s middle name was, now you know: it’s “Gone,” describing the likely first rounder’s draft status if he decides not to wait until September 2010 to play college ball and opts to enter the NFL draft. (Which he most likely will.)

Dez Bryant won’t be able to play football again until September 2010 after being suspended for the season by the NCAA late Tuesday night. Bryant played in just three games his junior season before being ruled ineligible for lying about meeting with Deion Sanders.

We’ve mentioned the ridiculousness of this several times throughout this stream (scroll down), but let’s take another second to consider this. Dez Bryant, a first-round pick whenever he declares for the draft, will miss almost his entire junior season — the one in which he was going to showcase his immense skills for the NFL scouts — not because he met with Deion Sanders, or received gifts or special treatment from him, but because he panicked when asked about it, and lied about meeting with Sanders.

Beyond the fact that a relatively innocent technicality has potentially cost Bryant millions of dollars and a season of eligibility, it’s infuriating to fans as well. We’re cheated out of seeing the full potential of the match-ups, such as OK State vs. Texas this weekend.

Although, really, it’s not like the NCAA has ever been fair or rational with its punishments, so we’re just wasting our breath here. Here’s hoping Bryant still going in the top 15 in April and has a lifetime full of worry-free tea parties with Deion Sanders.

“There’s nothing new…We’ve had no response. I think everybody has given up.”

The absence of Bryant hurts even worse now than it did four weeks ago. OK State has its best chance in years to make the Big 12 championship with Texas Tech and Oklahoma struggling in the Big 12 South, and could use Bryant to stretch the field against a Texas Longhorns team largely dependent on its defense.

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?!

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy says the school is 100% behind his star receiver, who is in the middle of the reinstatement process.

“We have started the reinstatement process, which means we’re in support of him 100%,” Gundy said. “He made a mistake. He was untruthful and he’s admitted that.”

Bryant will now join his legal counsel, Willie Baker, and OSU compliance officer Scott Williams for a meeting with NCAA officials in Indianapolis.

Deion Sanders said he has been a mentor to Bryant for a few years now, but confusion on Bryant’s part led to the suspension:

“The kid panicked, man,” Sanders said. “He panicked. He thought it was a violation to come over to my house and it isn’t. He said no, that he hadn’t been over here, and I said, yeah, he had been over here. I don’t lie and he panicked.”

Sanders said he was asked two years ago to mentor Bryant because of Bryant’s difficult past; his mother served time in prison on a drug-sale conviction.

Sanders said that before he started mentoring Bryant, he called Oklahoma State’s receivers coach to ensure that it was O.K.

“When Dez is late to class, the coach calls me,” Sanders said. “When Dez doesn’t show up for this, the coach calls me.”

SBNation’s Gobbler Country says the Bryant suspension is “one of the dumbest” he’s seen in college sports:

Bryant thought just going to Sanders’ house was a violation of NCAA rules. I don’t blame him. It seems every small, stupid thing is an NCAA violation, even if it’s just Chillin’ With Deion. The NCAA has these kids scared to leave their dorms without doing something that will cost them their eligibility.

That’s not how it should be. If the kids take pay for play then they should be ineligible. But when kids start thinking that talking to a retired NFL player is a violation, then you know there are too many rules.

[…]

Congratulations on busting such a nefarious rule breaker like Dez Bryant, NCAA. Now when are we going to hear something from you about Reggie Bush?

Thanks to Facebook, Dez Bryant explained more details of why he was suspended:

This is why I’m suspended…..I went to Deion sanders house ….and the NCAA found out…..they ask me if I been to his house I told them no…I thought it was a violation…but it wasn’t… so I told them I went to his house… I lied to them and I shouldn’t have….and I’m not suspended for the rest of the season….I’m sorry osu!!