Of all the people in the NFL, who would've thought HE would be marred in a controversy.
My team, the Lions, just had a newly signed safety charged with battering his pregnant girlfriend, but Marvin Harrison is different. He's not the typical loud-mouth wide receiver that exercises on his driveway, hits people with cars, and smokes the Mary J.
He's a quiet, often transparent figure in the NFL tabloids, where arrests occur on almost a daily basis. I'd never heard a negative thing about him until last Friday, when he was supposedly involved in a shooting in Philadelphia at a place he owned. Was he really? Chances are, we'll never know the whole story.
According to ESPN.com, he is not a suspect in the shootings, and he and his agent have called the reports "erroneous."
According to various legal minds covering the story, "if your gun is used in a crime in the state of Pennsylvania, you're automatically charged, and most likely arrested."
I don't know what he would be charged with, but a Marvin Harrison mug shot would be something I didn't plan to see in my lifetime. A legacy-ruiner if any of it pans out to be true. Many people thought Marvin Harrison was one of the last good-guy receivers in the league today.
The evidence mounted recently on Harrison, as six of the bullet casings fired in the shooting belong to one of Harrison's guns, which is rumored to be one of his twenty. This could lead to a possible arrest in the future, but Philadelphia police still claim he's not a suspect, and he was only interviewed as a part of police procedure.
In today's world, a reader of a major sports website or news source can't flick or scroll through headlines without seeing steroids, drugs, or arrest in a headline. This shocking story of Marvin Harrison's alleged involvement with firearms spells out the inevitable question itself: Whether the allegations are true or false, depending on what one believes, who else is there to root for? Let's hope they're false. For the NFL, and pro sports in general.
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5 months ago
I was just as surprised as you by this Marvin Harrison accusation.
"In today's world, a reader of a major sports website or news source can't flick or scroll through headlines without seeing steroids, drugs, or arrest in a headline. This shocking story of Marvin Harrison's alleged involvement with firearms spells out the inevitable question itself: Whether the allegations are true or false, depending on what one believes, who else is there to root for? Let's hope they're false. For the NFL and pro sports in general."
By that comment do you believe that the sports world has tarnished itself or that the media goes out of its way to publicize such things more so than they used to? Does smoking weed or being a loud-mouth make you a person not to root for?
from 5 months ago
Spenser, I can't speak for what Mike meant, but I think the amount of media coverage has a lot to do with our perception. Let's face it, athletes have ALWAYS been athletes. If you read most any baseball or basketball athlete memoir from the 70's, stories of drug use and womanizing are central themes. The difference then was that the press did not have as much access; therefore it was done in the shadows and the boys' club never chatted it up with the press.
As a Colts fan, the Marvin situation is extremely disappointing, regardless of whether or not he actually did the shooting. I think the situation does remind us that athletes are just people like we are and, like the rest of us, make mistakes. Maybe we should simply appreciate their accomplishments on the field but that they may not be as great off of it.
from 5 months ago
Sorry folks that last line should have read "...but acknowledge that they may not be as great off of it."
5 months ago
As an NFL and avid Colts fan, I also hope that Harrison was not involved. Harrison is a good guy in a league that gives bad guys all the attention. However, I'm beginning to wonder if Harrison has a bit of a temper. There was the incident at the Pro Bowl a couple years ago (though to clarify, the accusations were dismissed), and now a confirmed fight and possible shooting. That's not the Marvin Harrison Colts nation has come to know and love.
5 months ago
I was just as shocked and saddened when i heard the report, I hope there is more evidence that rises separating him from this incident.
5 months ago
I too was surprised when I heard this news. As a Colts supporter, I've always thought it kinda of cool that our most show-offy wide receiver is Reggie Wayne...and he doesn't show off that much. The Colts are a team that like character as opposed to, apparently the Cowboys (I hate Pacman). I hope these allegations are false.
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