Steelers' T.J. Watt Says He's Never Seen Mike Tomlin Give Player an Envelope
May 21, 2020
Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison made waves last week when he accused head coach Mike Tomlin of giving him an envelope after the All-Pro was fined $75,000 for an illegal hit on then-Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi in 2010.
"Dude, I'm telling you, 75?" Harrison told Willie Colon on the Going Deep podcast (h/t Ken Carman). "And I ain't gonna lie to you, when that happened, right? The G-est thing Mike Tomlin ever did, he handed me an envelope after that. I ain't gonna say what, but he handed me an envelope after that."
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, who was not on the team at the time, told the Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday that he has never seen Tomlin do anything like that:
Watt was selected 30th overall by the Steelers in the 2017 NFL draft.
The 25-year-old All-Pro is not the only one to deny what Harrison suggested:
ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalkSteelers president Art Rooney II, on James Harrison's claim that he received "an envelope" from Mike Tomlin: "I am very certain nothing like this ever happened. I have no idea why James would make a comment like this but there is simply no basis for believing anything like this."
Harrison even downplayed his own comments:
Harrison played for the Steelers from 2002 until his release in December 2017, including a 2013 stint with the Cincinnati Bengals. The New England Patriots signed him for the remainder of the 2017 season. The 42-year-old announced his retirement in April 2018.