IRVING, Texas -- Terrell Owens downplayed a report Friday
that he falls asleep in team meetings.
"As long as I don't sleep on Sunday," the Dallas Cowboys
receiver said as he left the locker room at the team's practice
facility. As is customary on Friday, he did not conduct interviews.
The receiver said in Friday's editions of The Dallas Morning
News that he informed the Cowboys about a sleeping problem before
signing with them.
"It's nothing new for me to fall asleep in a meeting," he
said.
Owens said the problem dates to the first stop of his career in
San Francisco, where he said receivers coach George Stewart thought
he was staying up too late.
"When I did get to bed early, I would still get to meetings and
fall asleep, and it's the same thing here," Owens said.
Owens said he hasn't been staying out late.
He acknowledged that his sleeping habit irks Cowboys passing
game coordinator Todd Haley, who had a run-in with Owens at
practice earlier this season.
"At some point, give me a little vet credit," Owens said.
"But I understand (Haley) wants me to be a professional and be a
standup guy for the younger guys on the team."
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said it was an issue of "personal
health" that wouldn't be discussed outside the team.
"I don't say that as though it's something that's irritating at
all," Jones said.