James Harrison: Why the Pittsburgh Steelers LB Did Not Really Say Anything Wrong

The plague of political correctness has put us in a very awkward relationship with free speech.  Americans will tell you that we hate political correctness because it has slowly and painfully killed our First Amendment right of freedom of speech.  We will tell you that it puts a stop to constructive conversations that could help our country politically and socially.  We will tell you that political correctness is one of the worst things to happen to our free society.

As much disdain as there is for political correctness in America, this disdain is often conditional.  The condition is that Americans want free speech back, as long as this free speech still falls under the bubble of political correctness.  When this free speech becomes opinionated instead of calculated, politically correct bullcrap, the natural reaction of Americans is to be offended.

The conditions we place on our free speech prohibit the speech from actually being free and further dig America back into the grave of political correctness. So, when opinions are actually given (and are actually frank), they are quickly reprimanded by people more concerned with saving face than actually analyzing the opinions of the person opting for free speech.

This conditional disdain of free speech has never been as apparent as it was this week when comments were released from James Harrison's interview in Men's Journal. In an age when interviews with athletes are just clichés, the Harrison interview should have been considered refreshing.  In an age where athletes are usually just workout-and-party robots, Harrison should have been rewarded for actually having opinions on the direction of the sport.

Instead, Harrison's interview was reprimanded for not falling under this new 21st-century umbrella of conditional free speech.  The correctness of Harrison's opinions didn't matter as much as the fact that his opinions were not the standard, politically correct baloney we are used to hearing from athletes.  That is why people took offense to Harrison's statement when really he constantly made valid points. 

When you analyze Harrison's controversial statements, you see that all of his points are actually valid opinions.  Harrison's first rant perceived as politically incorrect was about commissioner Roger Goodell and how he felt about the fines Goodell was issuing. 

His opinion of Goodell was that if the commissioner were on fire, he would not piss to put him out.  People across the sports landscape have said that Harrison should be fined for this statement.  Why should he be fined for having an opinion that many players seem to share?  Why should he be fined for saying what many people in the league (players and others) would say if they were not trapped in the bubble of political correctness?

It really does not matter what Harrison thinks of Goodell because the game of football is bigger than one person's opinion.  What matters to the NFL and Goodell is that they "make an example" of Harrison so players who hate Goodell even more than Harrison refuse to speak up.

The NFL and ESPN have spun this so that Harrison looks like the bad guy for stating a common opinion. This way they can contain the threat and protect the image of the NFL.  After all, it seems the image of the league is way more important than our First Amendment rights.

The next controversial take Harrison had was on the fines Rodger Goodell issued for helmet-to-helmet hits last season.  The NFL has repeatedly said that it has issued these fines because it is looking out for player safety.  This may be true, but the NFL is really only looking out for players' safety because it does not want to offer these players financial help when they are struggling with severe health issues later in life.   

Harrison silently acknowledges the hypocrisy of these fines, but points out a larger issue with this statement about how race and stature may play a role in the fines the NFL is issuing out.  Harrison correctly points out that he was only fined $5,000 for a hard hit on Vince Young, but was fined over $20,000 for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who he "just touched."

This is an important issue that needs to be examined and it shows you how the NFL wants to protect some players more than others.  It may not be as much of a racial issue as Harrison is making it out to be, but it does go back to the NFL wanting to protect its brand and its image, rather than wanting to protect all of its players equally.  The NFL would rather have Young run out of the league with mental health problems than Brees have any mark other than his birthmark.

The league wants Brees, Manning and Brady to play as long as possible because they portray a desirable image.  The NFL does not care how long Young or any other player lasts who is not of the moral mold of Drew Brees.  Thinking that this does not play a role in the amount that Harrison was fined is scatterbrained, and the disdain that this opinion has been met with is somewhat inhumane.

Harrison also says that Goodell did not take into account the lead-up to some of these hits, and fined some of these players for hits that were not illegal.  How can this opinion be met with criticism if it is an opinion that has been stated hundreds of times by former players and analysts?  How can we argue that the bad habits of some wide receivers have also been a reason for the helmet-to-helmet hits?

These points Harrison made are common knowledge but have been met with harsh criticism—just because the NFL and ESPN's in-bed relationship tells us that we should be enraged about the whole article.  Again, the validity is James Harrison's statement is fine, but the controversy is because of what and who he is speaking against.

The next controversial remarks were found in Harrison's rant about the New England Patriots.  Harrison is of the belief that "Spygate" should have been more of a big deal and that the NFL shows favoritism towards the Patriots.  It can be said that the NFL did not want to harshly punish the "Spygate" Patriots because it wanted to protect one of the few dynasties amongst the parity that is the 21st-century NFL.

It can also be said that the NFL wanted to protect the hard-working image of these world championship Patriots, especially the image of golden-boy quarterback Tom Brady.  I believe that, if any other team did what the New England Patriots did, they would be punished a lot more severely than the Patriots were. This is essentially what Harrison is saying, yet he will be victimized for saying this and speaking out against the "hard-working" New England Patriots.

Harrison also speaks out against the hypocrisy of the criticism he has received from Rodney Harrison and calls out the work of analyst Tedy Bruschi (what smart person has not done that?)  Harrison's criticism of the New England Patriots and the league favoritism shown towards the Patriots is also valid.

Harrison even was comfortable enough with his God-given right to speak out against his own players.  Harrison said that controversial quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tries too hard "to act like Peyton Manning."  This is a valid, if not somewhat constructive, criticism of what is often considered to be the main problem in Roethlisberger's game. 

It can be said that even though Roethlisberger has had a major identity crisis off the field, he has just as big of an identity crisis on the field.  Even though he is not one of the league's most intelligent quarterbacks, he often tries to go to the line of scrimmage and control the team's blocking schemes and make unnecessary audibles.

A lot of Steelers fans agree that if Roethlisberger tried playing more like himself and less like Peyton Manning, he would be a better player and the Steelers, as a result, would be a better team.  Harrison also gave a valid criticism of running back Rashard Mendenhall's problems with fumbling.  Harrison might have broken the code of not calling out teammates, but he did not say anything that cannot be considered a valid opinion.

In the end, Harrison will be criticized ad nauseam and he will be fined until he cannot afford to clean up his own vomit.  But I would advise you not to jump on the bandwagon of criticizing Harrison before actually analyzing the validity of his statements.  Also, don't jump on the bandwagon of loving free speech only when it is politically correct, and don't be the third member in the political correct orgy that is the relationship between ESPN and the NFL. 

Harrison's comments were a great reminder that we actually have freedom of speech in the 21st century.  A great reminder of the issues that players like Harrison think are important.  A great reminder of the hypocrisy of the NFL and the hypocrisy of the media.  And finally, hopefully, a great reminder not to judge anyone without fully understanding and comprehending what or who it is you are judging.