James Harrison Comments on Upcoming Meeting with NFL over Al-Jazeera Report

The NFL and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison agreed to move up their scheduled meeting to Thursday, when the two sides will discuss an Al-Jazeera report that linked him to performance-enhancing drugs.

Harrison, for his part, does not seem concerned.

"They are going to clear my name and give me the same sendoff they gave [retired quarterback] Peyton Manning," Harrison said, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. "I'm going to be cleared. They are going to give me the same thing, flash, across the bulletin board, NFL, Instagram, Twitter, all that—'James Harrison cleared.'"

Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, confirmed to Fowler that the meeting will take place at 11 a.m. ET. It's unclear whom the NFL will be sending to conduct the questioning, but Harrison will be represented by an NFLPA lawyer. The NFLPA has been strict in attempting to limit the questioning to the since-discredited Al-Jazeera report—thus avoiding any other potentially damaging testimony.

Harrison called the meeting a "waste of time." 

Green Bay Packers linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were scheduled to meet with NFL officials Wednesday, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.

Manning, who was the main subject of the report, met with the NFL earlier this offseason. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in July after a seven-month investigation.

Those players have been less outspoken about the matter than Harrison, who called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a "crook" last week. 

"I'm not anxious, man," Harrison said. "It's a stupid thing I gotta do to continue doing what it is I want to do and trying to get to where we want to be, and that's holding a Lombardi [Trophy]. Me sitting out or having to sit out a season is not it."

At the center of the discord is Goodell's seemingly unlimited power over players. The NFLPA for months advised its players not to testify in the case, but they were ultimately compelled by Goodell's threat of a suspension. The NFL commissioner's grip on players has increased this summer following rulings that upheld suspensions of Adrian Peterson and Tom Brady, which were previously overturned in lower courts.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.