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IRVING - A food fight erupted in the middle of the Cowboys' locker room, but instead of mashed potatoes and green peas being thrown, accusations and profanities were hurled.
At the center of it all was Dez Bryant. The Pro Bowl receiver's long-running feud with the media came to a head Thursday. And while the prolonged rant was more comical than threatening, it did result in Bryant yelling at one of the club's senior vice presidents to fix it and ended with an unfounded charge on Twitter that a black reporter used the N-word.
It wasn't a typical day at Valley Ranch. But when you take a sensitive, emotional receiver who believes he's been treated unfairly and add a six-game losing streak, you get an explosive afternoon.
It began when NBC 5 reporter Pat Doney asked Bryant if he was doing interviews. Bryant said he didn't like how Doney tweeted after Sunday night's game that he and Greg Hardy didn't make themselves available for interviews.
The lockers of Greg Hardy and Dez Bryant were empty when the media was allowed to enter the locker room. Both left without doing interviews.
— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) November 9, 2015
Bryant then started asking the whereabouts of ESPN's Jean-Jacques Taylor. Bryant had been steaming about a column Taylor wrote one week earlier and had mentioned it to reporters on several occasions in recent days.
Taylor stands in front of Bryant's locker and the receiver draws an imaginary line on the ground, telling Taylor to stay on the other side. The two begin discussing the story and Bryant continues to get louder as Taylor states his side.
At this point, the conversation is no more contentious than what normally transpires when an athlete disagrees with something a reporter has written. Receiver Devin Street then inserts himself into the conversation and Taylor responds, "ain't nobody even talking to you.''
Street appears shocked, believing Taylor used a racial epithet. He repeats the word. Bryant points at Taylor and begins yelling the N-word over and over, saying a reporter can't say that to a player.
Taylor said afterwards he never used the word. Others close enough to hear the exchange, including two club employees, insist Taylor never used the N-word and Street simply misunderstood.
Bryant and Street leave the locker room with Bryant chastising the media, yelling how they won't report about what took place between Street and Taylor. A short time later Robert Klemko of the MMQB and Sports Illustrated, who was at Valley Ranch to do a story on Greg Hardy, tweets this: Dez Bryant just blew up on reporter, went on 10-minute rant. "Until they stop disrespecting this team I don't give a f---. Mother --- sick!''
Dez Bryant just blew up on reporter, went on 10-min rant. "Until they stop disrespecting this team I don't give a f---. Mother------- sick!"
— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) November 12, 2015
Bryant returns to his locker, sits down, picks up his phone, sees the tweet and starts searching for Klemko. Bryant accuses him reporting only part of the story, his voice becoming louder and louder as a public relations assistant stands between the two.
"Don't single me out like that,'' Bryant yells at one point. "If you're going to report something, report it right. Allright? Report it right. Go report that.
"For real. This ain't a game, dog. This ain't a game.''
Running back Darren McFadden gets involved at one point and tries to pull Bryant back. Cornerback Tyler Patmon tells Klemko to leave. Tight end Jason Witten, who is conducting an interview with reporters, excuses himself and tries to calm the situation.
Rich Dalrymple, the club's senior vice president of public relations, is in the locker room at this point and walks up to Bryant.
"Let's just drop it," Dalrymple tells Bryant.
"How about you all fix this [expletive], Rich,'' Bryant yells. "How 'bout you fix it, Rich. You talking to us, you talking to the wrong people. You talking to the wrong people.
"I'll make sure that I put it out then, since ya'll not going to say nothing."
Jason Garrett walks into the locker room at this point. Bryant immediately turns toward the head coach and continues his rant.
"Dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty,'' Bryant booms. "They're [expletive] dirty, coach. They're dirty. They're dirty, all of them, and especially you (points to Klemko).''
Garrett, Bryant and Dalrymple all leave the locker room together. Bryant returns several minutes later, smiling. He cranks up the volume on his hand-held wireless speaker as the Outkast song "So Fresh, So Clean'' blares and walks toward the showers.
The media availability period ends a few moments later. Bryant then tweeted: "Yea, I blew up on the media but repeat why I blew up on y'all. Saying I don't give [expletive] about me & calling players [n-word] not professional...''
He quickly followed up with this tweet: "If you going to tell something tell the whole thing...I'm done with the situation...I hope everyone is having a great day.''
Friday will mark the 54th day since the Cowboys last won a game.
Who knows what's in store?
Catch David Moore on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) with The Musers at 9:35 a.m. every Monday and Friday and The Hardline at 4:10 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday during the season.
Twitter: @ DavidMooreDMN
He followed his comments up with a tweet later in the night.
