James Harrison fined again by NFL
Pittsburgh Steelers' linebacker, James Harrison knows only one way to play the game, hard. He doesn’t believe in toning it down and that is exactly what makes him so dangerous. Dangerous not just in the playing football sense, someday Harrison is going to
hurt someone. It’s almost inevitable the way he plays the game. He hits hard and almost without remorse. One of these days, a wide receiver or a quarterback would be put on a stretcher because of him. The league knows this and they have been trying to put
a stop to it.
NFL has fined Harrison three times already in this season. In September, the league fined him $5,000 dollars for a hard hit on Titans’ quarterback, Vince Young. The message obviously didn’t get through to Harrison. Two weeks ago, the league hit him with
a whopping $75,000 fine for a hit on Cleveland Brown’s Mohamed Massaquoi. Two other players were fined that week and the league sent a memo to all teams outlining what constitutes legal and illegal hits.
The league made it clear that illegal hits would draw heavy fines and suspensions from now on. Harrison was shocked by the fine. Afterwards, he said that he did not regret hitting the Browns’ wide receiver or knocking him out. He added that he would continue
to play the way he always has and this week was no different.
Harrison slammed into Saints' quarterback, Drew Brees after he had already passed on the ball. If Brees hadn’t released the ball, it would have been a good play but after sending off the ball, the quarterback was no longer in play and the hit was illegal.
For the late hit, Harrison is now being fined $20,000.
The total sum in fines that the league has taken from Harrison’s pay cheque now totals $100,000. Even for highly paid NFL players that is a lot of money. After the hit on star quarterback and before the league announced the fine, it was widely believed that
the league would take some serious action against Harrison. Something close to the earlier $75,000 fine he got but not quite as much. The hit didn’t injure Brees and avoided the head and neck areas.
But then again, this was Harrison’s third transgression. If he had led with his helmet he would have almost certainly been suspended. Although, the lineman sounded unapologetic when it was Massaquoi who got hit, this time he appeared more concerned. Possibly
because he realized that it won’t be too long before the league hits him with a suspension.
The fines by themselves aren’t that much of a burden for Harrison but if he was forced to miss games, then that could hurt his career. So, Harrison met with National Football League Commissioner, Roger Goodell. The meeting wasn’t a part of Harrison’s appeal
of the $75,000 fine he received for the hit on Massaquoi. That meeting would take place next week.
This time, the purpose was simply to take a closer look at each other’s view points. Harrison called the meeting ‘semi-productive.’ He said that he wanted to present his side of the story to the league and hear their take on illegal hits. “I came away with
a better understanding and I guess they got a better understanding of how I see things,” stated Harrison.
Representing a divergence from his earlier stance, Harrison said that he needed to adapt to the rules. “It’s not really that much of a change,” he said. He maintained that his only concern was making some last moment adjustments adding that if in the last
instant, a player lowers his head then the hit can’t be controlled at that point.
The league told Harrison that as the defensive player who initiates contact, it was still his responsibility if a situation like that develops. “I don't know, hopefully we'll get a better understanding,” Harrison said. He admitted that the hit on Brees was
a little late and he understood that the league fined him for it. However, his plans to appeal the $75,000 fine remain unchanged.
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