Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker James Harrison escapes punishment over
Tim Tebow hit–NFL News Update
Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker, James Harrison, who is known for his daring tackles, had another lucky escape from an inevitable punishment, this time for his hit on Denver Broncos’ star of the 2011 National Football League (NFL) regular season, Tim Tebow.
In their wild card game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, January 08, 2012, Harrison received a flag for shoving Tebow from the back.
Having looked at the hit, league officials have decided that it was not a foul and let the Steelers’ linebacker go without a punishment.
The news is a surprise to many, especially to critics of Harrison amongst whom he is known as being ‘dirty’.
John Elway, Denver Broncos’ vice president of football operations, believes that Harrison’s hit was within the rules and he did not have any other options than to go low during the Tebow tackle, which resulted in the foul.
"Because of the fact that he's been fined so often, [Harrison] really had no other option. I don't think he intended to hurt Eric. But obviously because of the situations he's been in, he had to go low and stay away from the head. And it ended up costing
an MCL sprain for Eric".
Tebow’s hit was James Harrison’s second of the game.
His earlier hit on Broncos’ wide receiver, Eric Decker, resulted in his knee injury. Decker was helped to the sideline by his teammates and could not show up for rest of the game.
Lucky for Harrison, he has successfully avoided the possibility of being fined or penalised in any other form, especially a suspension.
The latest alleged foul by Harrison comes a couple of weeks after his one-game suspension by the NFL office for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland Browns’ quarterback, Colt McCoy.
McCoy had suffered a concussion and is ruled out for rest of the postseason.
The handling of his injury by the Browns became a subject of an inquiry by the NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA).
James Harrison was suspended for one game over the hit, which according to his critics, was too lenient of a punishment for him and unlikely to discipline him. He became the first player to have been banned for one game under the enhanced players’ safety
measures by the NFL during the previous season.
Harrison has apparently lived up to his reputation of being a daring tackler and consistent foul maker.
He had been handed down more than $100,000 in fine for his fouls in the 2010 NFL regular season.
James Harrison has knocked down three Browns' players for concussions over the past two years. Colt McCoy’s head injury was his fifth consecutive foul and apparently he did not have any regrets over the hit.
Tags: