Who is lying: the NFL or Martavis Bryant?

by Eric Herrmann (SteelersGrind) on August 5, 2017

The Steelers have been at training camp at St. Vincent college for about a week now, but camp hasn’t started for everyone. Awhile ago we assumed we would have seen tons of Martavis Bryant by now, but that hasn’t been the case.

Unfortunately, the NFL has dragged their feet in reinstating Bryant. He still is not permitted to practice with the team. So far all we have seen of Bryant is him jogging around and catching passes on a nearby field separate from the team.

Steelers coaches have kept their lips sealed regarding the wide receiver’s status. The biggest updates we’ve received this week are from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. To the dismay of many, their quotes contradict one other on Bryant’s status in fulfilling his league-mandated requirements.

This means either Martavis Bryant or the league is lying.

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On Friday, August 4th, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote an article with quotes from McCarthy saying the league is still waiting on Bryant to fulfill his obligations:

He would be permitted to participate in all preseason activities, including practices and games, once he satisfies requirements… Once arrangements have been confirmed regarding Bryant’s clinical resources in Pittsburgh, he will be permitted to participate in all preseason activities, including practices and games.

Based on what McCarthy said, one would assume Bryant has lied to the public and hasn’t satisfied his commitments. However, another report contradicts what McCarthy has said.

The source?

Ben Roethlisberger.

The shaky relationship between Roethlisberger and Bryant has been no secret lately, yet the two reportedly had a “heart to heart” talk recently and appear to now be on the same page.

On Wednesday, August 2nd, Gerry Dulac and Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette released Roethlisberger’s comments concerning Bryant’s status:

Goodness, he’s done everything the league has asked. I’m not really sure why they keep holding him out from being out there with the guys. To me, the best is for him to be out there with his brothers. I’m not really sure what the holdup is, but I know he’s doing everything he can to be out there.

Based on what Roethlisberger has said, Bryant has done everything the league has asked for. He satisfied his requirements and should be allowed to participate in practice.

Ben’s comments contradict the league spokesman, so what should we take away from this?

That neither source can be correct.

Either Martavis Bryant has lied to his team and has failed to fulfill the requirements set forth by the NFL in order to participate in team activities, or Brian McCarthy is practicing McCarthyism and lying about Bryant’s failed requirements.

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The only thing we can really take away is that there’s no clear answer. Being a bit biased, I lean toward believing Bryant’s side of the story. All of the evidence we’ve seen so far points to him being a changed man.

In a recent interview by Jacob Feldman of Sports Illustrated, Bryant was open and honest about his mistakes early in his young career. He admitted that he had complete disregard for the NFL’s drug policy. He said he didn’t care for working out and he was ready to quit football following his suspension for the entire 2016 season.

That might not be enough to make some a true believer in Bryant’s turnaround, but making the effort to stay clean, get in better shape, and show the league he is, in fact, a changed person, should not be discredited.

Still, there’s no way to know who is and isn’t responsible for a delay in Bryant’s full reinstatement. Bryant could be putting on a great act; though it’s difficult to believe someone would spend the time and energy as Martavis has over the course of the last 19-plus months. (Bryant last played an NFL game on January 17th, 2016, and was suspended on March 14, 2016.)

For all we know, the NFL could be pulling a power move. The hold up could even be due to a stupid miscommunication. All we can do right now is wait ,and hope, we see Martavis Bryant fully reinstated as soon as possible.