Lawrence Taylor doesn’t think the “Dez Bryant Rules” would have worked for him while he was an all-pro linebacker for the New York Giants. Â Read more after the jump.
“It boils down to the guy and if he is willing to adhere to those rules. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to do it,” Taylor wrote Friday in an e-mail to USA TODAY Sports.
The Dallas Cowboys have imposed restrictions on Bryant, their talented but troubled third-year wide receiver, who recently was charged in a domestic dispute for allegedly assaulting his mother. The restrictions include a ban on strip clubs, and Bryant can go to nightclubs only with the team’s permission. He has a round-the-clock security detail, which critics have called babysitters.
It’s fair to wonder how good Taylor — the 10-time Pro Bowler, two-time Super Bowl winner and hell-raiser with 142 career sacks — would have been had he been under the restraint of the Bryant rules, which also include no alcohol use, a midnight curfew and bi-weekly counseling. The guidelines might have helped the Hall of Famer avoid off-field troubles that included the admitted use of cocaine and a positive test for it while with the Giants in 1987.
Taylor, 53, is attempting to rehabilitate his tarnished off-field image, which has been further marred by his guilty plea to misdemeanor charges of sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute.
In a 2007 appearance on CBS’ 60 Minutes promoting his autobiography, L.T.: Over the Edge, Taylor told late news reporter Mike Wallace that he chased cocaine during and after his 13-year career the way he once did quarterbacks.
Taylor said the Bryant rules will work only if the wide receiver is willing to abide by them.
“Hey, listen, as an organization, you can try to monitor an individual, and certainly these days there are more ways to do so rather than when I was playing,” Taylor wrote.
