Dez Bryant on Cowboys' Rookie Hazing Ritual: 'I'm Not Doing It'

SAN ANTONIO -- It didn't take rookie Dez Bryant long to find a comfort zone with the Dallas Cowboys.

Or to raise an eyebrow or two amongst his teammates.

Bryant, the wide receiver and first-round pick who wowed fans at the Alamodome during the team's first training camp workouts over the weekend, refused to take part Sunday in the rookie ritual of carrying veterans' shoulder pads to the locker room.

"I'm not doing it," Bryant said. "I feel like I was drafted to play football, not carry another player's pads. I just feel like I'm here to play football. I'm here to try to help win a championship, not carry another man's pads. I'm not saying that out of disrespect."

The kid seemed sincere enough, but it was interesting that the vet he stiffed was Roy Williams, the wideout everybody expects Bryant to unseat in the starting lineup.

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"He's kind of ornery right now," said Williams, who has been a huge disappointment for the Cowboys since the club traded first- and third-round picks during the 2008 season to acquire the former Detroit Lions first-round pick. "He doesn't want to carry the pads and we should take them in the locker room. We might have to go to Step 2."

That sounds ominous.

Former Dallas coach Bill Parcells used to have rookies fetch him water during practice. And several rookies were spotted carrying pads and helmets for Cowboys vets over the weekend. That's no different than what will go on across the league when the rest of the teams begin filing in for camp this week. Williams did it as a rookie with the Lions in 2004.

But Step 2?

"I've seen guys take people's credit cards and go fill up their cards and wives' cards," Williams said. "There's a lot of dirt that goes on in the locker room."

Update: Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said Monday that Bryant's refusal to participate in the Cowboys' hazing ritual was a "non-issue," and Williams also brushed it off.

"I was never upset," Williams said. "I don't understand where everything is coming from. Like I said, you guys (the media) want to pit us against each other. If he doesn't want to take the pads, he doesn't have to take the pads. It's not a big deal, we'll just move on."

Said Phillips: It's not a problem for either of them or our football team. I'd like to cut it off now and say we're not going to talk about it, but that's not the case for the Dallas Cowboys."

Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten, one of the club's captains, also brushed the issue aside.

"We'll take of that in-house," Witten said. "Rest assured, everything will be squared away."