Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Jerome Bettis talks to the media after reporting to the training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe. Click photo for larger image. Training Camp Notebook: Miller gets off to good start Steelers Photo Journal

Players reported for the start of Steelers training camp yesterday but it was hardball that played out across the St. Vincent College campus.

Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward backed up his promise and did not report when he did not reach agreement on a contract extension with the Steelers. The team responded to his unauthorized absence by ending negotiations with him, and the team's director of football operations said no further talks will occur until Ward reports to camp.

"It's always been the policy of this organization that there will be no negotiations while a player who is under contract is not in camp," Kevin Colbert said.

Ward has one year left on a contract he signed in the summer of 2001, before he embarked on a stretch of four Pro Bowl seasons, obliterating Steelers receiving records during that time.

The Steelers gave Ward a proposal that would make him the highest-paid player in club history, but the signing bonus offered by the club, pegged around $9 million, is not close to what agent Eugene Parker demanded from the team.

Colbert said the sides talked yesterday but reported no progress.

"If a player was in camp we would hopefully continue the negotiations," Colbert said. "But, unfortunately, he's not."

While Colbert said the organization was disappointed, many of Ward's teammates came to his defense, most forcefully Jerome Bettis, who predicted Ward's holdout won't end until "they take care of him."

"I think that's what it boils down to," Bettis said. "It's a situation where they're leaving him no choice. He wants to be here. Unfortunately they're not stepping up to the plate."

Bettis publicly chastised the Steelers for not taking a more active approach in signing Ward after president Art Rooney declared it a priority to get an extension done this season for him.

"It's disappointing in a sense that the organization said last year they're going to take care of him and it wasn't resolved," Bettis said. "I think they could have gone through this process a little bit earlier. They didn't necessarily have to drag it this far.

"If he's the first priority, I think everybody could have been a little more proactive and gotten it done."

Ward is the first player under contract to hold out since Barry Foster in 1993. That holdout lasted from July 16 through Aug. 5, when he relented and reported to training camp. Later, Foster signed a contract extension.

The two most famous veteran holdouts in Steelers history turned out quite differently. After holding out for 39 days in 1977, Jack Lambert received a contract that made him the highest paid NFL defensive player at the time. During Franco Harris' holdout in training camp in 1984, the Steelers released him and he eventually signed with Seattle, where his playing days ended after several games.

Neither Ward nor Parker returned messages yesterday. Ward claimed on Thursday that nobody abides by contracts in the NFL, and Bettis is a good example of that. Bettis was scheduled to earn more than $4 million in each of the past two seasons but agreed to accept a $1 million salary in 2004 and 2005 or he would have been released.

"If an organization can ask you to take a pay cut, then you should be able to ask for a raise," Bettis said.

The Steelers can fine Ward up to $6,000 daily during his absence. Colbert said that decision would be up to coach Bill Cowher, who did not speak to the gaggle of news media assembled for the opening of camp yesterday.

Ward was the only veteran in contract negotiations with the Steelers. Others entering their final season under contract, such as Casey Hampton, Antwaan Randle El and Deshea Townsend, have had no talks for an extension with the team. All reported to training camp and all supported Ward.

While many players promised Ward's holdout would not be a distraction for them or the team, they said it would hurt not having him in camp, particularly for second-year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

"The timing with Ben. He really helps with the quarterback," said Townsend, Ward's roommate. "He makes Ben that much better."

There remains plenty of time for the Steelers and Ward to come to terms because the regular season does not start until Sept. 11, but Bettis said training camp won't be the same without him.

"We miss everything. He's definitely the heart and soul of this football team. You need playmakers out there. He's one of the guys who's a playmaker."

Said linebacker Joey Porter, "We can't win without him. He's worth whatever he's asking for. It's obvious we need him."

NOTES -- With Ward out, 86 players reported to camp yesterday, including seven who played in NFL Europe and get a roster exemption during the preseason. The Steelers will decide whether to put Ward on a reserve for players who did not report, which would allow them to sign another player and bring him to camp. ... The Steelers will hold their annual running test today. The first practice open to the public starts 3 p.m. tomorrow.