He backpedaled? How did he backpedal? Not saying he didn't, just didn't hear about this part, and haven't clicked any links.

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In the article that Formo linked, Bryant said that he hadn't realized that carrying pads was a tradition for rookies in the NFL. Then he said this:

"I told Roy this ... he could have walked in with his tights on," Bryant said after the first of Dallas' two practices Tuesday. "I would have took his shoulder pads, his pants, his helmet, his socks, his shoes. I would have took everything. But you know what, that's not even an issue."

He then said that if he doesn't carry Williams' pads after practice, he will take him out to dinner.

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lol so what happened to the whole I'm here to play football, not carry pads bit ...
weak

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Read the article, son. Damn.

He didn't realize it was a tradition that was started long before he was born. When a two-time Pro Bowler Rod Harrison told him that, he realized he was blowing things out up.



I messed up. I meant to say how they tried anything they could to develop a 'schism' between the two receivers AND make Bryant look like a dick. Which, to be honest, he did look like a dick. But funny how when all the information gets out he doesn't look like one so much, eh?

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He looked like a dick because of what he did, not the way it was reported. I don't see this as a media creation. The journalists just reported what happened. The next step was to get a response from the players themselves. Williams was in fact a bit annoyed at Bryant, but when Bryant realized that this was becoming somewhat of a big deal, he backed down.

I'm not convinced, by the way, that Bryant didn't know this rookie hazing stuff was an NFL tradition. Hell, most fans have heard about it. I think he may have just gotten a little carried away after a competitive practice session and thought, "Screw this guy, I'm not carrying his pads, I want his job." But the explanation doesn't matter much in the end. He backed down, which was the right thing to do.

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