Dez Bryant’s tirade at Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions NFL soccer game on October 27, 2013 made headlines. Spectators assumed his raving and ranting at the sidelines was a temper tantrum. CBS Sports reported the incident as the “most absurd and rebuked tantrum on an NFL sideline in a long time”. However, everyone was proved wrong when NFL released the audio and transcript of Bryant’s sideline rant. All the criticism was misplaced as Bryant was not fired up about not getting the ball enough as it appeared in the video, but was simply saying positive things to encourage his team. Verbatim transcription had saved the day for Bryant!
The first reports published after the match said that while Dallas Cowboys were leading the Detroit Lions 13-10 early in the fourth quarter, Bryant was seen yelling at the wide receivers coach Derek Dooley. After that, he screamed at the Head Coach Jason Garrett and quarterback Tony Romo. It was presumed that he was throwing a fit after not getting the ball on one of Dallas possessions. Though his teammates ignored the incident at first, they reacted when he began yelling again after a few minutes. Cowboys’ tight end Jason Witten was seen reacting angrily to Bryant’s tirade. Bryant calmed down when defensive end DeMarcus Ware finally intervened.
CBS Sports then ran news saying “Audio release of Dez Bryant sideline rant sounds ‘positive’ after all”. The audio and verbatim transcript revealed what exactly Bryant had said to the coaches and quarterback, and proved that the criticism of his behavior was misguided. It was just a sideline conversation about how to play the defense. His passion was, as he himself said, positive.
Verbatim transcription services are also widely used by market research companies and for legal transcription such as court hearings, police transcription and even employee disciplinary interviews. It is a useful choice for those who want full control over the transcript, that is, even the ‘ahs’ and ‘ums’ transcribed. The client can decide later as to whether to delete these or not. The main advantage of a verbatim transcript is that it clearly defines and gives more meaning what the respondent is saying. In a legal context, this can influence the outcome of the case.
