Wide receiver Dez Bryant, one of the most popular players on the Dallas Cowboys, just got served with a lawsuit by a sitting Texas state senator over damage to a rental house the politician alleges the player perpetrated.
Court documents reveal that State Senator Royce West is suing the player for upwards to $200,000 in damages after claiming to have had to make over $60,000 in repairs to the home the player was renting in a DeSoto gated community.
According to the lawsuit, West found the home recently vacated by Bryant to be “littered with trash and feces, missing blinds and shutters” and “with cracked windows and blackened carpeting.” West added he had to make massive repairs to the 6,400-square-foot house after Bryant left.
Bryant’s lawyers say he is not responsible for the damage.
Documents show that Bryant was paying West $4,720 a month in rent starting in September of 2013 and signed a standard rental agreement.
West is suing Bryant for “breach of a lease agreement” and for refusing to “accept accountability for his negligent and abusive treatment of Mr. West’s property.”
West’s lawsuit gave a detailed listing of the damage and presented photographs to the court.
“Upon Mr. Bryant’s return of the property to Mr. West,” the lawsuit reads, “Mr. West invited representatives of Mr. Bryant to perform a walk-through of the residence with him. No representative appeared on the date scheduled… the walk-through revealed irreparable damage to carpeting, flooring, windows, shutters, and blinds; the presence of animal feces, trash, debris, and personal property inside the residence; and distinct and pervasive odors throughout.”
The lawsuit also detailed the many attempts to contact Bryant or his representatives.
Senator West had joined a group of Dallas citizens who offered to mentor Dez Bryant to keep him out of trouble. The group included cardiologist Dr. Donald Arnette, and former Cowboys players Michael Irvin and Nate Newton.
There was at least one incident at the home that should have raised alarm bells. In 2014, local police were called several times over troublesome things going on at the residence and at one point it was discovered that Bryant was allowing up to ten hangers-on to live in the home with him.
At the time the press reported that Bryant was indignant over it all, saying, “No one can tell me who can live at my house!”
West has since said he never knew about the incidents in 2014.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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