Who is Dez Bryant’s mother? Roc Nation athlete’s troubled family history explained amid Jerry Jones, Nicki Minaj feud

Dez Bryant’s online beef with Nicki Minaj spiraled out after a few tweets on Sunday, as both celebrities engaged in a war of words. The rapper lashed out at the former Dallas Cowboys pro, accusing him of being a mom-beater. She referred to the infamous 2012 domestic violence case involving the ex-NFL player and his mother.

Dez Bryant’s mother is named Angela, who was an underage teen when he was born in November 1988. In a 2024 conversation on The Pivot Podcast, the former wide receiver revealed that his mother was only 13 at the time. Angela Bryant shared Dez with MacArthur Hatton, who was her mother’s boyfriend.

According to the American football player’s 2015 Rolling Stone interview, Hatton, who was in his 40s at the time, was the boyfriend of Angela’s mother, Virginia. The outlet mentions:

“[Angela] was the oldest of eight children by six fathers, was impregnated at 14 by her mother’s boyfriend, MacArthur Hatton, who’d also sired two of Angela’s siblings. Her mom, Virginia, left the house several months later to smoke cr**k.”

Angela, a minor, was in a relationship with MacArthur and had quit high school. Rolling Stone highlighted that no one reported Dez Bryant’s father “for statutory rape” of his mother. During the conversation, the football player reflected on the financial conditions he grew up under. Dez said:

“You’d be lucky if you had a Hot Pocket for dinner. We used to eat at Salvation Army on the regular, when the neighbors couldn’t help us out.”

He also spoke about the troubled upbringing he had after being born to a teen mother. Mentioning his mother’s history as a drug dealer, he remarked:

“The drug game wasn’t going how it should go, I guess, and she would get mad and take it out on me. Hit me with a pipe and threw a car amp at me — slashed me across the back.”

According to ESPN, Angela Bryant was convicted on multiple charges of dealing cr**k c*****e.

Dez Bryant’s mother accused him of domestic violence in 2012, but didn’t press charges

Angela made a 911 call reporting a domestic violence incident, according to NFL.com. ESPNDallas.com later released the audio recording of her conversation with the 911 operator. Angela reported that her son, Dez, assaulted her and was also heard saying (via NFL.com):

“I can't keep letting him do this. I can't keep letting him do [this to] me like this. I'm tired. I'm going to put an end to it today. I'm going to put an end to it today. I'm tired.”

The bodycam footage of the athlete’s mother also resurfaced in 2015. In the video, recorded on July 14, 2012, Angela described the incident that transpired. However, she held a joint press conference with Dez Bryant a few days after the incident.

The then-Cowboys player’s legal counsel, Royce White, claimed that there was a family disagreement, but Dez didn’t “commit family violence against his mother.” ESPN and the NFL reported that Angela was not going to press charges against her son.

Years later, Dez Bryant commented on his relationship with Angela on The Pivot Podcast and said:

“I love her to death, you know, but the relationship was kind of weird. Since I was a child, you know, I felt like I never got the ‘mom’ mom I always wanted. I think that's something that bothers me, you know ,throughout my life a lot, but I also got it too. I also understood, you know, all the things that my mom has been through. So that kind of made me kind of mature early too.”

Dez Bryant’s online beef with Nicki Minaj started after he called out Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones' answer on why he doesn't want to deal with the agent of Micah Parsons in this negotiation involves street corners, Jay-Z and Dez Bryant:

“Because when we have a problem with the player, the agent is nowhere to be found. Jay-Z said that Dez would make all meetings.…

— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) August 2, 2025

In a statement given to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Cowboys’ President and Owner, Jerry Jones, recently spoke about his willingness to speak with Micah Parsons rather than his agent. While speaking about the current situation, Jones recounted the trouble he had in 2015 during negotiation talks with Dez Bryant. He said:

“Jay-Z said that Dez would make all the meetings. Jay-Z and I negotiated the contract, spent hours. [...] He said, ‘Anybody in my organization is on time.’ He said, ‘My office used to be on the street corner, and I’ve always been early. So they will be on time.’”

Bryant hit back at the NFL team owner and tweeted:

“JERRY JONES I DONT THINK ITS SMART TO MENTION MY NAME I KEPT QUIET ABOUT A LOT OF UNFAIR SHIT.. ON SOME G SHIT… WE CAN HAVE STORY TIME IF THATS WHAT WE ARE DOING”

Roc Nation also slammed Jones and described his statement as false and comical. However, Minaj, who has been taking shots at Roc Nation, Jay-Z, and Desiree Perez, also weighed in on the beef. Later, the rapper referenced the 2012 incident and Bryant’s mother’s troubled past to attack Dez Bryant during their recent X feud.