Dez Bryant - Issues already with his teammates?

[edjr 6,584]

Dallas Cowboys rookie receiver Dez Bryant does not have any room for the old school or for sports tradition.

 

Bryant, who plays for LeBron James' favorite football team, refused to participate in an NFL rite of passage. Bryant refused to carry the shoulder pads of veteran receiver Roy Williams following a recent practice.

 

"I'm not doing it," Bryant said. "I feel like I was drafted to play football, not carry another player's pads."

 

"If I was a free agent, it would still be the same thing. I just feel like I'm here to play football. I'm here to try to help win a championship, not carry someone's pads. I'm saying that out of no disrespect to [anyone]."

 

It's a common duty for rookies to participate in some sort of hazing. Rookies often have to sing their alma mater's fight song during training camp.

 

"Everybody has to go through it," Williams said. "I had to go through it. No matter if you're a No. 1 pick or the 7,000th pick, you've still got to do something when you're a rookie.

 

"I carried pads. I paid for dinners. I paid for lunches. I did everything I was supposed to do, because I didn't want to be that guy."

 

 

Carrying shoulder pads is considered hazing now?

 

The pussification of America continues.

[dpbuddha 9]

When I heard about this yesterday it immediately sent up a red flag. I'm not sure that it will make any difference in Dez Bryant's performance this season but when you've got a rookie being "that guy," as Roy Williams put it, it makes you wonder how much of a prima donna he is going to be. Why does this guy have to be a little b!tch? Just carry the damn shoulderpads and show the rest of the team that you can hang and that you want to be one of the guys.

[PackYourNut 47]

LOL... I wouldnt carry Williams pads either... He sux! I'd carry another players, but not that guy I'm about to replace.

[surferskin 30]

Yup...definitely a red flag. Dez Bryant already thinks he's arrived. Pay your dues rookie and STFU.

[DeaLerZ 0]

I wouldn't carry around Roy Williams pads either... of course Roy Williams wants Bryant to carry around his pads because he is worried that Bryant is gonna steal the show, and he is going to lose his starting job. So he is trying to have whatever power over Bryant he can. NO one cares that you carried around someone else's pads when you were a rookie, you were probably the only one stupid enough to do it.

 

That's like kissing the "insecure bully's ass" in school because your afraid he will beat you up if you don't.

 

Sorry Roy Roy... this is the NFL, not middle school

 

It would of looked worse on Bryant if Roy Williams didn't say anything about it... but it just shows exactly what i said above...

[edjr 6,584]

I wouldn't carry around Roy Williams pads either... of course Roy Williams wants Bryant to carry around his pads because he is worried that Bryant is gonna steal the show, and he is going to lose his starting job. So he is trying to have whatever power over Bryant he can. NO one cares that you carried around someone else's pads when you were a rookie, you were probably the only one stupid enough to do it.

 

That's like kissing the "insecure bully's ass" in school because your afraid he will beat you up if you don't.

 

Sorry Roy Roy... this is the NFL, not middle school

 

It would of looked worse on Bryant if Roy Williams didn't say anything about it... but it just shows exactly what i said above...

 

 

If Tony Romo told Bryant to carry his shoulder pads, he would have said no to him too.

 

Smarten the fock up

[shovelheadt 71]

LOL... I wouldnt carry Williams pads either... He sux! I'd carry another players, but not that guy I'm about to replace.

 

Completely agree. Fock Williams.

[Kent 228]

 

If Tony Romo told Bryant to carry his shoulder pads, he would have said no to him too.

 

Smarten the fock up

 

HAHA. I doubt it. Romo is pretty integral to Bryant receiving footballs this year.

 

Roy Williams on the other hand...

[TimmySmith 2,782]

Keep it up Dez, don't take crap from nobody.

[Skinny_Bastard 157]

The question is, what will the rest of the team (vets) do about this? Let this kid stand them up?

 

They should hold this guy down on his knees in the shower and give them a good D%$##K slapp'n.

That should wake him up.

[surferskin 30]

The question is, what will the rest of the team (vets) do about this? Let this kid stand them up?

 

They should hold this guy down on his knees in the shower and give them a good D%$##K slapp'n.

That should wake him up.

Would that even be considered punishment in the cowboys locker room?

[WhiteWonder 2,735]

 

 

Bryant, who plays for LeBron James' favorite football team,

 

 

did i miss what this has to do with the news story?

[edjr 6,584]

did i miss what this has to do with the news story?

 

I was wondering why the writer added that to the story myself

 

The writer is from Cleveland

 

http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2010/07/dez_bryant_is_rookie_hazing_no.html

[Joey Gladstone 33]

Not sure how much of a poosay move this is. Bryant held firm and stuck to his guns. Maybe if Roy Williams worried as much about working on his game as he does having youngsters tote around his pads, he wouldnt be a waste of roster space and Jerry Jones' money.

 

When Bryant puts up numbers, helping the Boys both win games and push Williams overpaid ass out the door, all will be forgotten.

[Jarvis Basnight 119]

When Bryant puts up numbers, helping the Boys both win games and push Williams overpaid ass out the door, all will be forgotten.

 

Let's take a moment, once again, to remember the ankle grab assumed by the Cowboys in that trade to Detroit for Williams. Hahaha.......aaah.....shoot.

[Jarvis Basnight 119]

 

If Tony Romo told Bryant to carry his shoulder pads, he would have said no to him too.

I doubt that.

[rehdjac 0]

I give him credit. These are professionals, and they should act like men. Leave the locker room hazing crap to the sexually frustrated high school kids. Pay his dues? Please. How about he does that by learning his job, playing his role, contributing to the team, and acting like a grown up?

[JT 137]

Hmmm...Bryant's been a doosh at every step along the way. I'm stunned to see that lots of money and attention would go to his head.

[edjr 6,584]

I give him credit. These are professionals, and they should act like men. Leave the locker room hazing crap to the sexually frustrated high school kids. Pay his dues? Please. How about he does that by learning his job, playing his role, contributing to the team, and acting like a grown up?

[JT 137]

I give him credit. These are professionals, and they should act like men. Leave the locker room hazing crap to the sexually frustrated high school kids. Pay his dues? Please. How about he does that by learning his job, playing his role, contributing to the team, and acting like a grown up?

 

 

OK, so you hate jocks. No problem. I hate dallas, and I'm glad they end up with this (maybe not too far in the distant) future cancer.

 

But in any dynamic, "I had to do it, so you have to as well" carries a lot of weight in establishing yourself as willing to be a contributor, a part of the whole, one-for-all, etc.

 

Bryant's getting paid millions. He showed himself to be a selfish a-hole in college, and I'm not referring only to the well publicized incident that made him ineligible. His reutation at Ok State was that of a prima donna, and there were multiple disciplinary issues due to tardiness and absence; ie, not abiding by the same rules as everyone else. He should be looking for every opportunity to put that stuff to rest, to leave it behind him. Instead, he rails against a part of the process that he knew coming in would present itself.

 

If a guy's too big to carry pads as part of a silly, harmless ritual that every player in the league has gone through, I sure wouldn't want to rely on him to cover my ass or produce when a seriously tough situation presents itself.

[edjr 6,584]

OK, so you hate jocks. No problem. I hate dallas, and I'm glad they end up with this (maybe not too far in the distant) future cancer.

 

But in any dynamic, "I had to do it, so you have to as well" carries a lot of weight in establishing yourself as willing to be a contributor, a part of the whole, one-for-all, etc.

 

Bryant's getting paid millions. He showed himself to be a selfish a-hole in college, and I'm not referring only to the well publicized incident that made him ineligible. His reutation at Ok State was that of a prima donna, and there were multiple disciplinary issues due to tardiness and absence; ie, not abiding by the same rules as everyone else. He should be looking for every opportunity to put that stuff to rest, to leave it behind him. Instead, he rails against a part of the process that he knew coming in would present itself.

 

If a guy's too big to carry pads as part of a silly, harmless ritual that every player in the league has gone through, I sure wouldn't want to rely on him to cover my ass or produce when a seriously tough situation presents itself.

 

[Militia 0]

Roy was just scared he'd drop em, like he does all Romo's passes.

[jocstrap 8]

Roy Williams

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/multimedia/multimedia_center.cfm?id=0C9F2A74-E00D-E1FA-A3E6F28693417F2C

[madd futher mucker 36]

I could give a sh1t less whether or not Dez carrys Roy's jockstrap for that matter. Here's what I care about (from Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Jennifer Floyd Engel):

 

The good people at CBS 11 asked me to weigh in on the biggest question of Camp Cowboy to date: How long until Dez Bryant supplants Roy Williams as the starter?

 

And I'll tell you exactly what I told them. Did you watch practice? Already has.

 

It is just a matter of how long it takes Coach Wade to note the obvious in the starting lineup. This is not meant as a rip, merely a nod to recent history, where weeks were frittered away before Miles Austin was unleashed. And what Dez flashed Saturday suggests a slightly naughtier version of anything Austin displayed a year ago.

 

The rookie caught everything in his vicinity on Day 1, with his vicinity being his ankles to far above him. The one-handed catches, plural, along the sideline, were electrifying. His little legs were flying down the field, leaving a wake of gaping jaws.

 

"God gave him some ability," linebacker Bradie James said.

 

And yet the most impressive thing Dez did was be at training camp to do any of this.

 

You probably heard, because everyone was saying so, that Dez would for sure be a holdout. Dez had a rep for always being late at Oklahoma State, and questions about his judgment surfaced based on the whole NCAA brouhaha that cost him most of his last collegiate season, and his agent was Eugene Parker, who spearheaded Michael Crabtree signing in San Francisco just in time for Halloween a year ago.

 

Many were waiting for Dez to prove the fog of doubt surrounding him was justified. What he did instead was chip away at every single question about him, his character and whatever else caused him to plummet well below his talent level in the draft, by signing early and arriving early.

 

"I just wanted him to know I am here to play," Dez said. "I am here to do whatever they ask me to do. I'm here to work hard, give 100 percent, give my 'A' game. I feel like that is the message I sent Mr. Jones."

 

Dez said he stepped onto the turf at the Alamodome almost two hours early, deliberately so, to send a message to Owner Jones and teammates and fans and anybody watching about exactly what kind of guy he is, just in case any of the rumors had left anybody confused.

 

Because as former President John F. Kennedy once noted, "the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." And such is the case with Dez.

 

Most of the knocks on him were innuendo, the things that are whispered and hard to put into words, about the kinds of plays Oklahoma State had to run with him, and about his work ethic and about his judgment, and about his habit of being late and about his friendship with Deion. It was not that he is a bad guy or a bad player, hardly. It was just a little risky, thus why he fell to a place in the draft where the Cowboys could go get him.

 

"We obviously loved him as a player," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "We were very comfortable with him as a person. We liked him. He's a good young man."

 

And then he said what most of us had been thinking. "Watch him practice. Think he likes football? Watch him practice."

 

The dude practices like he is Sam Hurd, his future hanging on every route. It is like he has something to prove, people to shut up, even though he says that is not the case.

 

Also from David Flores / Kens5.com:

 

You know what people say about first impressions. You don’t get a second chance to make a good one.

 

Dallas Cowboys rookie Dez Bryant made sure he got off to a good start on the first day of training camp Saturday, taking the field some 45 minutes before practice at the Alamodome.

 

Bryant wasn’t just early for practice, he was the first player on the field.

 

“I just wanted to show everybody that I’m ready to go, ready to play,” Bryant said after the Cowboys opened their fifth training camp in San Antonio. “I’m ready to do whatever they ask me to do. I just want to work hard and give 100 percent. I want to bring my ‘A’ game every day.”

 

Bryant was an instant hit with the record crowd of 19,437, drawing cheers every time he caught a pass. Fast and quick, Bryant looked smooth as he came out of his cuts and wowed fans with several nifty catches.

 

In one drill, he brought a pass down with one hand near the sideline and stayed inbounds.

 

“I had a good time,” Bryant said. “It’s great to play in front of so many fans. They gave me great support. I owe it to the fans to work hard when I’m out there.”

 

I underlined that last sentence for emphasis. Those are words i never heard out of Roy Williams' mouth.

[nobody 2,672]

OK, so you hate jocks. No problem. I hate dallas, and I'm glad they end up with this (maybe not too far in the distant) future cancer.

 

But in any dynamic, "I had to do it, so you have to as well" carries a lot of weight in establishing yourself as willing to be a contributor, a part of the whole, one-for-all, etc.

 

Bryant's getting paid millions. He showed himself to be a selfish a-hole in college, and I'm not referring only to the well publicized incident that made him ineligible. His reutation at Ok State was that of a prima donna, and there were multiple disciplinary issues due to tardiness and absence; ie, not abiding by the same rules as everyone else. He should be looking for every opportunity to put that stuff to rest, to leave it behind him. Instead, he rails against a part of the process that he knew coming in would present itself.

 

If a guy's too big to carry pads as part of a silly, harmless ritual that every player in the league has gone through, I sure wouldn't want to rely on him to cover my ass or produce when a seriously tough situation presents itself.

 

You played basketball right? Serious question... If you joined a team and some scrub that was about to lose his job to you tried to make you carry his bags around, would you do it? It's one thing for leaders on a team to do some hazing, but Roy Williams? Dude probably wasn't even trying to haze him. If his play is any indicator, there's a good chance he's just too lazy to carry his own pads.

[JT 137]

You played basketball right? Serious question... If you joined a team and some scrub that was about to lose his job to you tried to make you carry his bags around, would you do it? It's one thing for leaders on a team to do some hazing, but Roy Williams? Dude probably wasn't even trying to haze him. If his play is any indicator, there's a good chance he's just too lazy to carry his own pads.

 

Yes, I did. And yes. There are veterans and there are rookies. For as long as anyone can remember, vets haze rooks, seniors haze freshmen. I got mine, some from a guy who, while I was carrying his bags, couldn't carry my jock. But it's all part of the deal, and you know it coming in. It's no surprise. You shut up, do it, and move along.

 

Superstar or scrub, it doesn't matter. It's the sports food chain.

 

I didn't pledge a fraternity for many reasons. One was that I wouldn't put up with the hazing crap. I had that choice. If I didn't want to put up with that, I could opt not to join the process. Their rules, written and implied, are common knowledge.

 

I guess if Bryant felt so strongly about that miniscule negative aspect of the life of an NFL player, he could have chosen another path in life. I'm sure many businesses would be lined up to pay the same money to a guy without a college degree, and with a string of questionable character issues.

[rehdjac 0]

OK, so you hate jocks. No problem. I hate dallas, and I'm glad they end up with this (maybe not too far in the distant) future cancer.

 

But in any dynamic, "I had to do it, so you have to as well" carries a lot of weight in establishing yourself as willing to be a contributor, a part of the whole, one-for-all, etc.

 

I don't hate jocks. Most people consider me a jock. I do hate the systemic, forced perpetual adolescence of athletes, and a media which force feeds it to us as something benign while then demonizing off field transgressions which are products of that precise doctrine.

 

Using "I did, You do" is, again, an excuse for children. I expect more of myself, and therefore, others. That a football player refuses to participate in such nonsense is refreshing. If I was his coach I'd sure as hell rather him show his willingness to be a "contributor, part of the whole, one for all", by running his routes, learning his plays and catching passes than carrying a never-was' pads to the locker room.

[Tacks 0]

I'm not even sure how this became a "story". People please! Who cares? It's pretty obvious that Williams sucks and it's only a matter of time before Bryant takes his job. Isn't that all we really care about? Who's the starer and who's gonna get us points?

[Gepetto 1,368]

All this means to me is Miles Austin is going to set the league on fire.

[JT 137]

I don't hate jocks. Most people consider me a jock. I do hate the systemic, forced perpetual adolescence of athletes, and a media which force feeds it to us as something benign while then demonizing off field transgressions which are products of that precise doctrine.

 

Using "I did, You do" is, again, an excuse for children. I expect more of myself, and therefore, others. That a football player refuses to participate in such nonsense is refreshing. If I was his coach I'd sure as hell rather him show his willingness to be a "contributor, part of the whole, one for all", by running his routes, learning his plays and catching passes than carrying a never-was' pads to the locker room.

 

You can demonize the practice all you want, but it's nothing more than a rite of passage, albeit a foolish one. Linking the willingness to acquiesce to a tradition, regardless how insipid it may be, to aberrant off field behavior is a reach and a grasp that Bryant's coaches can only hope that he has.

 

It's locker room crap. Shenigans. Hijinks. Horseplay. He's not Rosa Parks.

 

I find it interesting that you come back to the "never was", as if he's different than the new "never was". Williams has played at the NFL level. Bryant has done nothing...except apparently determine his own rank in the pecking order on what is supposed to be a team. You can attempt to mock "all for one" all you want, but I've been on teams where that concept was lacking. It's never good.

 

Let's say it was Romo's pads. Again, I hate the team/franchise/players/city/residents and anything else you can name about that forsaken hell hole. But he's a "star". Or use any star player, fill-in the name/franchise. Does that make it different?

[Raider 84 29]

Dez should carry his pads and let Williams carry his helmet on the sidelines on Sundays.

[swirvenirvin 25]

I wouldn't carry around Roy Williams pads either... of course Roy Williams wants Bryant to carry around his pads because he is worried that Bryant is gonna steal the show, and he is going to lose his starting job. So he is trying to have whatever power over Bryant he can. NO one cares that you carried around someone else's pads when you were a rookie, you were probably the only one stupid enough to do it.

 

That's like kissing the "insecure bully's ass" in school because your afraid he will beat you up if you don't.

 

Sorry Roy Roy... this is the NFL, not middle school

 

It would of looked worse on Bryant if Roy Williams didn't say anything about it... but it just shows exactly what i said above...

DUMB

[famousb 11]

You can demonize the practice all you want, but it's nothing more than a rite of passage, albeit a foolish one. Linking the willingness to acquiesce to a tradition, regardless how insipid it may be, to aberrant off field behavior is a reach and a grasp that Bryant's coaches can only hope that he has.

 

It's locker room crap. Shenigans. Hijinks. Horseplay. He's not Rosa Parks.

 

I find it interesting that you come back to the "never was", as if he's different than the new "never was". Williams has played at the NFL level. Bryant has done nothing...except apparently determine his own rank in the pecking order on what is supposed to be a team. You can attempt to mock "all for one" all you want, but I've been on teams where that concept was lacking. It's never good.

 

Let's say it was Romo's pads. Again, I hate the team/franchise/players/city/residents and anything else you can name about that forsaken hell hole. But he's a "star". Or use any star player, fill-in the name/franchise. Does that make it different?

 

and i can't wait until next year/several years down the road when Dez tries to make a new rook carry his pads, and that rook just laughs him off... Guaranteed Dez wants to be the "hazer" but can't take being the "hazee"...

 

can't wait to hear people backtrack on how much of a great move this is for standing up against the "adolescent" practices then...

[rehdjac 0]

I find it interesting that you come back to the "never was", as if he's different than the new "never was". Williams has played at the NFL level. Bryant has done nothing...except apparently determine his own rank in the pecking order on what is supposed to be a team. You can attempt to mock "all for one" all you want, but I've been on teams where that concept was lacking. It's never good.

 

Let's say it was Romo's pads. Again, I hate the team/franchise/players/city/residents and anything else you can name about that forsaken hell hole. But he's a "star". Or use any star player, fill-in the name/franchise. Does that make it different?

 

That's a perfectly valid point. In my reply I let me own personal dislike of Williams segue itself into my point, and to no avail. He's an idiot with a gifted body his feeble mind has wasted. That's irrelevant to my point as you correctly point out. To answer your question, no I don't who the pads belong to should be an issue. I think it's crap regardless. Do I think he'd do the same to Romo? No, he probably wouldn't.

 

That said, again, there are and should be other ways of ingratiating yourself to your new team beside participating in pranks plucked from the minds of pubescent teenagers. I wasn't mocking "one for all". Most of sports have been individual in nature, but I've been on crap teams as well. The problems ran a hell of a lot deeper than a few new kids being unwilling to sub for a few doms.

[swirvenirvin 25]

You played basketball right? Serious question... If you joined a team and some scrub that was about to lose his job to you tried to make you carry his bags around, would you do it? It's one thing for leaders on a team to do some hazing, but Roy Williams? Dude probably wasn't even trying to haze him. If his play is any indicator, there's a good chance he's just too lazy to carry his own pads.

Roy is a pretty big jokester everyone knows that, just normal hazing.

[famousb 11]

don't forget the "he only picks on you cause he likes you" factor... yeah, it's kinda ghey when it's put like that, but the fact is, there are probably some rooks that would love to be noticed enough to have one of the bigger names on the team (even if it is an overrated name who's never lived up to his billing) ask him to carry his pads. Being asked by one of the current starters at your position probably means you're pretty good and you're getting noticed.

Maybe since Dez doesn't like the attention and being noticed all of the vets should just completely ignore him...

 

 

(plus, Dez probably is standing his ground now because he knows he's way to stoopid to learn and sing the OK St fight song in the cafeteria.)

[Gepetto 1,368]

It's not really a big deal. Everyone reacts differently to situations like this and Dez has everyright to say no. The veteran players have every right to respond however they see fit. What's important is that respect is maintained between all of them.

[Corporal Punishment 0]

"We don't haze. That's it," Phillips said. "I didnt like it when I was in college. We treat our men like men. As far as certain traditions that go -- if you want to participate in it or you don't, that's your preogorative. . . . Anytime you make someone uncomfortable, that is [going] too far."

 

Phillips has to try to play this down, but in the same breath, he admits this is a tradition for rookies.

Now you can call this immature or meaningless or whatever, but it is certainly not limited to college fraternities or training camp. Open up any anthropology textbook and look up rites of passage. These kinds of rituals are especially important during basic training in the military (check out the first half of Full Metal Jacket). The basic idea is for you to show humility so you can develop pride in being a member of the group.

Having said all that, I do think the fact that it was Roy Williams made all the difference in the world to Dez Bryant. Still makes him look pretty self-important, though.

[DeaLerZ 0]

DUMB

 

no whats dumb is that the media and everyone else gives a ###### that Dez Bryant didn't carry Roy Williams pads... because he apparently has character issues, and thinks he is better than everyone else.....honestly who gives a flying ######?! all i care about is watching Dez Bryant and the rest of the cowboys offense play football cause it will be exciting to watch.. i could care less about this crap... by the end of this season... Roy Williams will be a memory of the past, and we will all be talking about how awesome Dez Bryant's rookie season was...

 

having pride in what you do, and having character issues are completely different ....

 

i didn't join a fraternity either in college because its like selling your soul to pay for friends... make your own god damn friends... in the same sense, Dez Bryant obviously doesn't give a crap about carrying Roy Williams pads because he has too much pride... and instead of earning his right of passage by kissing people's ass... he is going to make his own way in the NFL (which in my opinion is harder to do) by proving to everyone that he deserves to be a cowboy, and helping his team to take the next big step, and win a championship... seems like his head is in the right place if you ask me, and that everyone else head is caught up in the bullshit drama... and trying to make a headline where there isn't one...

[madd futher mucker 36]

no whats dumb is that the media and everyone else gives a ###### that Dez Bryant didn't carry Roy Williams pads... because he apparently has character issues, and thinks he is better than everyone else.....honestly who gives a flying ######?! all i care about is watching Dez Bryant and the rest of the cowboys offense play football cause it will be exciting to watch.. i could care less about this crap... by the end of this season... Roy Williams will be a memory of the past, and we will all be talking about how awesome Dez Bryant's rookie season was...

 

having pride in what you do, and having character issues are completely different ....

 

in the same sense, Dez Bryant obviously doesn't give a crap about carrying Roy Williams pads because he has too much pride... and instead of earning his right of passage by kissing people's ass... he is going to make his own way in the NFL (which in my opinion is harder to do) by proving to everyone that he deserves to be a cowboy, and helping his team to take the next big step, and win a championship... seems like his head is in the right place if you ask me, and that everyone else head is caught up in the bullshit drama...

 

truth!