Haze Me While I Take Your Spot

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Roy Williams was Born in Odessa,Texas and attended Permian High School, the subject of the hit movie “Friday Night Lights.” He stayed in state to attend the University of Texas where he was a star earning multiple accolades. He went on to become the 7th overall pick of the 2004 draft by the Detroit Lions where he started off a very successful early career highlighted by an 82 catch 7 TD year in 2006.

Dez Bryant is also a Texas native, born in Lufkin,Texas where he was a prep super star before deciding to take his talents out of state to Stillwater Oklahoma and Oklahoma St. where he became an All-American caliber receiver before running into trouble. He was suspended for the majority of this past season for his lying to the NCAA about his contact with Deion Sanders. During the draft process his character was again called into question when questions of his past became an issue. They went so far deep into his personal life that questions on whether his mother was an actual prostitute were brought up. Before the season Bryant was in mock drafts slotted to go in the top ten as the first receiver taken and maybe even the first offensive skill position player taken. However after his “issues” his stock dropped and it wasn’t until the 24th overall pick that he heard his name called by his home state team the Dallas Cowboys.

Bryant saw this oportunity as a fresh slate so to speak and by all accounts he has been running with it. He has been doing all the right things in training camp on and off the field. Working hard, performing at a high level as expected, staying out of trouble, and interacting with the fans and community. Apparently the only thing he hasn’t been doing is accepting his role within the dynamic of the locker room as a rookie.

In 2008 Williams was traded to Dallas from Detroit for a first round pick as a compliment to Terrell Owens and Jason Witten to form a potentially vaunted offense. Instead he has 57 catches in 25 games for 8 touchdowns. Not quite the homecoming that either Williams or the Cowboys had in mind when they gave such a high price for him. With the emergence of Pro Bowl receiver Miles Austin, the Cowboys sent a clear message to Williams that he wasn’t getting the job done opposite of Austin by using their first round selection on Bryant. Despite his lack of production on the field and his lack of consistency in camp this summer compared to the rookie Bryant, Williams still felt the need to treat Bryant as if he were a free-agent signee and Williams was still a star. In reality Bryant appears to be breezing past Williams on the depth chart as he has been cornerbacks in camp.

So when practice ended one day, and Williams told Bryant to carry his pads for him, Bryant refused. He refused to accept the role of rookie, he refused to accept the fact that he was low on the totem pole, and most importantly he refused to ignore the fact that he was gunning for Williams’ spot. Now, there are two trains of thought that could come to mind when looking at this situation:

Number one is that you look at Bryant and say “hey, you are a rookie, take the punches and roll with them because this guy has served his time and is a veteran in this league.” This is the route that most go with and they realize it is all part of being a professional athlete and being on a team. Even though you are a first round pick and expected to play at a high level that doesn’t mean you are above getting initiated onto the team.

The other option is one that is rarely seen but one that in this case sends a clear message. By accepting the responsibility of taking Williams’ pads and doing his work for him, Bryant decided that he would be giving a mental edge to Williams.He decided that he didn’t want to give any mental ground to Williams because he was trying to take his spot. So instead he didn’t carry his pads and despite his status as a rookie on the team he decided he was above the rookie hazing that comes with the territory.

By going with the latter of the two options Bryant may be shaking things up in the locker room but he is sending a message to Williams, to his teammates, to the coaches and management, and to the fans that he is here to play and that he expects to be climbing the totem pole of the team very quickly, all while Williams watches with a baseball hat from the bench. And you can bet that if Bryant performs on Sundays as he has been in camp and if Williams continues to struggle that this little incident will be looked upon as the turning point in this position battle. A little note to Roy: don’t tell the kid who is “It” during a game of tag that you kissed his girlfriend, especially when he looks like this

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because he will catch you and in this case he won’t ever look back.

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