Dez Bryant will NOT be Hazed

The Dallas Cowboys are some people’s favorite to win the Super Bowl this year. If they make it to the Super Bowl the Cowboys will be the first team to play in the Super Bowl in their own stadium. But there already may be some internal animosity brewing that could become a sore that keeps the Cowboys from reaching their full potential.

Dez Bryant the first round Wide Receiver from Oklahoma St. is already stirring up some trouble at Cowboy’s training camp by refusing to carry the pads of fellow WR veteran Roy Williams. In the odd world of the NFL where the players wish to be treated like men, some of them still hold onto hazing rituals of rookies as if they were pledging a fraternity. I never joined a fraternity because I think they are the most absurd groups on earth. I’ll be damned if someone is going to force me to carry out ridiculous acts of subordination for the sake of being accepted, so I fully appreciate where Dez Bryant is coming from on this topic.

Bryant was picked by the Dallas Cowboys to join their team in order to help them win football games. He was not picked to carry the pads of a teammate. Some may say that being hazed is part of belonging to a team, I say it is not. Forget the fact that Roy Williams has underperformed his entire career and hasn’t earned the right to tell anyone what to do. Even if that was Jerry Rice trying to get a rookie to carry his pads, it is flat out a stupid and immature ritual.

Williams now says that he will take this to Step 2, alluding to some of the things that he and possibly some other veterans may do to the rookie Bryant. He mentioned stealing his credit cards as one of the possible actions involved in Step 2. Williams said that he had to endure some rookie hazing and so Bryant too must do the same. It seems to me that Williams should be more worried about his own steps if he wants to remain a starter.

While most rookies may go along with these types of ridiculous stunts Bryant is not one of them. If Williams continues to push the hazing envelope with Bryant it will be interesting to see the affect it has on the Cowboys this year. Remember, in the NFL there is a very line between winning and losing and it is these types of locker room disturbances that cane have a lasting affect.