Steelers' James Harrison: If I Can't Headhunt, I'm Taking My Ball and Going Home

Early Wednesday, James Harrison speculated that if he isn’t allowed to hurt people professionally, he may not want to get paid to play football at all.

Okay, maybe those weren’t Harrison’s exact words.  But that was the gist of Harrison’s threat to retire in the midst of being fined $75,000 for a controversial hit on Cleveland’s Mohamed Massaquoi Sunday afternoon.

After a week filled with heavy helmet-to-helmet hits in the NFL, the league is in the process of reviewing its policy on the violent hits and may end up making such plays grounds for suspension.

Hits on Massaquoi, Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson, and Baltimore’s Todd Heap are central to the discussion on protecting players from the types of “tackles” that can result in concussions and other serious, long-term injuries.

Through his agent, Harrison claimed to be concerned about his ability to play football if he is “going to be fined $75,000 for making a legal tackle.”

That “legal tackle” may not have drawn a penalty flag, but it clearly involved Harrison leading with his helmet, a hit that can and usually does draw a penalty under NFL rules and if nothing else, shows an extreme disinterest in the well-being of a fellow NFL athlete.

The problem with these hits in the NFL is that they are the direct result of the macho, tough-guy attitude that football players, coaches and fans hold sacred at every level of competition in the sport.

Harrison easily could have made an effective tackle on Massaquoi by targeting the body or using his arms to tackle.  But by targeting the receiver’s head and leading with his own helmet, Harrison makes it clear that he was going for the “highlight reel” hit, probably to make himself feel like the ultimate “tough guy” in the league.

Here’s an idea James: you want to be a man?  Play the game the way men played it before defensive players got to wear fifty pounds of protection so they could dish out pain without inflicting any on their own bodies.  Don’t go for the cheap shot just because you can.

Make an effective tackle on the receiver that does not knock him out of the game.  A real man gives his opponent a chance to get back on his feet and go toe-to-toe again the next play.

Above all else, a real man admits when he’s wrong; try following the example set by Brandon Meriweather of New England.  Meriweather accepted his $50,000 fine, apologized for the hit, and vowed to play within the rules from now on.

“I understand the league is trying to protect the health of all our players.”  A big thank you to Meriweather for his intelligent perspective; could you try getting that point across to Harrison, too?

Instead of considering the fact that guys like Massaquoi, Heap and Jackson could very well lose their livelihood should they be injured badly enough, Harrison is childishly threatening to give up his because he does not appear to be allowed to KO a receiver at will any longer.

James Harrison, if you think your ability to dish out the best hit of the weekend is more important that protecting the brain tissue of a receiver (or anyone who plays football at any level, for that matter), then you don’t belong in the NFL or professional sports.

And if any fan feels that James Harrison is in the right by standing up for dirty hits, then you clearly watch professional sports for all the wrong reasons.