Dez Bryant has made headlines for many different reasons, good and bad, in recent years. The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver is back in the headlines this week, but for a non-football related, possibly sad reason.
Bryant is no longer the proud owner of his pet monkey, Dallas.
While speaking with KTCK-AM 1310 The Ticket, Bryant said he had to give his pet monkey away to one of his friends, but still gets to see him.
He was one of us, the monkey was one of us,” Bryant said. “He got pure-A1 treatment.”
Last year, when Bryant announced on Instagram he owned a pet monkey, PETA stepped in. The animal rights organization even went so far as trying to get authorities to remove the animal from Bryant’s home.
“Monkeys belong in the wild — not in the hands of football players who acquire exotic animals just to make a splash on Instagram,” PETA Foundation Deputy Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet said in a statement. “This baby capuchin was torn away from his mother shortly after birth and needs special care that can now only be provided by wildlife experts who will be able to ensure that he gets the love and attention he deserves.”
However, the Cowboys wideout didn’t explain why he had to give the pet monkey away. Going back, Bryant also detailed the story of how he bought the monkey from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“I always wanted a monkey and I got him,” he said. “Yeah, he recognizes me… I gave him his name.”
Oddly enough, Bryant wasn’t the first Cowboys player to own a pet monkey. Back in 1995, Oronde Gadsden played for Dallas for one season and had a pet monkey named Malik.
“He would sit on Oronde’s shoulder with his tail wrapped around his neck,” Nate Newton, a Pro Bowl left guard, said. “He was really well behaved. It’s not like he would be running around the locker room and stuff.”
While Gadsden, the Cowboys, and Malik may have had a different relationship than Dez, Dallas Bryant, and the Cowboys, it’s oddly funny that over 20 years after Gadsden, another Cowboys receiver owned a pet monkey.
