MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Former NFL player Desmond Bryant’s world felt upside down not that long ago, and it came crashing down in the most public way.

All you have to do is go searching online.

He was arrested 13 years ago in South Beach and his mugshot would become the favorite punchline late night comedians.

It’s taken Bryant a while to talk about it.

The viral mugshot was viewed millions of times and became a defining moment for a professional football player living a double life, dominant on the field but privately living the party lifestyle and abusing alcohol.

“Here I am, this Christian guy who wanted to always make God proud and all the things I wanted to do,” he said. “But yet as an NFL player, someone who’s trying to party and be successful in this world, I was doing a lot of things that weren’t aligned with my true self.

Bryant doesn’t remember every detail from the night he went with a group of friends to party at a nightclub on South Beach.

Bryant blacked out and his friends called a taxi, but the driver took him to the wrong house and police were called.

“They threw me in the back of the cop car, I was never been more enraged in my life than to be in the back of that cop car,” he said. “I remember they went antagonizing me. I was talking back. And then yeah, when the photo came out, I thought I was going to stick out my tongue. I thought that was a good thing. I was going to mess up their photo, but of course, they got the last laugh.”

Injuries eventually ended Bryant’s football career.

The Harvard graduate is now the owner of a yoga studio in Miami Beach and enjoys serving the community as a proud father.

Bryant said he has been sober for two years, adding a new chapter to his life by mentoring new NFL players and warning them about the pitfalls of the party life.

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