Perhaps in an effort to mimic his second-half performance in games this season, Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant did not show up for a scheduled Tuesday hearing to settle a $600,000 debt, ESPNDallas.com reported on Friday.
As you might recall, Mr. Bryant was pretty amped up about the prospect of becoming a millionaire as the 2010 NFL Draft approached.
So confident was the former Oklahoma State star in his earnings potential, he allegedly leaned on credit and loans to make various purchases with a Texas jeweler/ticket broker. Once he got his payday -- Bryant signed a five-year, $11.8 million contract with Dallas in 2010 -- plaintiff Eleow Hunt said Bryant failed to pay up.
In April, Bryant settled another debt with a New York-based jeweler worth $267,000.
Following Bryant's missed hearing, Hunt's attorney filed a motion in Tarrant County (Texas) court Wednesday seeking an immediate hearing to settle the debt.
Bryant's attorney, Royce West, said Thursday that Bryant "was sick and couldn't make the settlement discussions." The two sides did get together Thursday night, making "substantial progress," according to West.
And in another episode of "As The Dez Turns," a source told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Bryant has been cleared by the NFL after failing a drug test in training camp due to the technicality of not having proper identification.
Bryant apparently showed up for a mandatory drug test without any form of ID, a no-no that triggered the failed designation. Somewhere, Deion Sanders is shaking his head in disappointment.