According to the latest report, if there is in fact an incriminating video of Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, it is not in Wal-Mart's possession.
First, there was the report referencing a "Ray Rice-style video" that could put Bryant's NFL career in jeopardy.
Then, there was the release of a police report outlining an incident which occured outside of a Wal-Mart in a Dallas suburb in July 2011 in which onlookers reported seeing a woman dragged by the hair from one car to another - both cars were registered to Bryant.
That was followed quickly by reports that sources close to Bryant believe the tape exists and that the story was being pushed by the Cowboys in order to drive down the electric wide receiver's asking price.
Now, Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal reports that the alleged videotape, if it does in fact exist, is not in Wal-Mart's possession.
"Wal-Mart director of national media relations, Brian Nick, said because no charges had been filed, the company would not have pulled the security footage at the time and created a videotape of the incident," writes Kaplan.
"No crime had occurred, he said, so the Lancaster Police did not request the footage from the company's security system."
That is not to say, of course, that there wasn't or isn't a tape or that some type of crime didn't occur, simply that without charges filed there was no need to create a second dubbed video documenting the incident.
"And it would be too late now to do so, he added. The company's security protocol eliminates footage after a certain period of time, he said, and that time has passed," reveals Kaplan.
"This doesn't preclude the existence of a video tape, just that Wal-Mart's official statement is no videotape is or has been in the possession of the shopping giant."
This most likely won't put the issue to bed, as the preliminary reports stated that it was actually Bryant's former friends who possessed the alleged tape, but it at least eliminates one potential avenue from which the video and the possible demise of Bryant's NFL career can come.
