By Gerry Dulac
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It has been a tough five days for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
First, their star wide receiver, Hines Ward, basking in a feel-good embrace after his popular ěDancing With The Starsî victory, is arrested in Atlanta for driving under the influence. Two months after he could execute a samba with dance partner Kym Johnson, police said he was so impaired he couldnít even walk a straight line.
Then, four-time Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison, who made headlines last year for the heavy fines he was handed for illegal hits, brings even more notoriety to the franchise with comments in a national magazine that were insulting and degrading to commissioner Roger Goodell and no doubt embarrassing to the Rooney family.
Another black eye for the Steelers, maybe the most respected franchise in professional sports?
A year after they have tried to move on from an alleged sexual-assault incident involving quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelersí national reputation has taken another hit because of Harrison ó a player who knows all about delivering hard hits. His much-circulated comments have created a stir around the league.
Early Thursday night, Harrison issued an apology on his Facebook page that he said will be ěmy only responseî to the article in Menís Journal magazine.
ěI did make comments about my teammates when I was talking about the emotional Super Bowl loss, but the handful of words that were used and heavily publicized yesterday were pulled out of a long conversation and the context was lost,î Harrison said in the statement. ěObviously, I would never say that it was all Benís or Rashardís fault that we lost the Super Bowl. That would be ridiculous. Both Ben and Rashard are great players and great teammates.
ěClearly the entire team bears responsibility for the loss, me included. It was a team effort and a team loss. My teammates know me well, and hopefully understand the things I said were not meant to accuse them of the loss. We all have discussed several things that went wrong in the Super Bowl since that day. What I do apologize for and take full responsibility for is for speaking in such a candid manner to someone outside the team.î
Harrison also apologized for his use of anti-gay slur to describe Goodell, who fined him $100,000 for his repeated late hits in 2010.
ěI also need to make clear that the comment about Roger Goodell was not intended to be derogatory against gay people in any way,î Harrison said. ěIt was careless use of a slang word, and I apologize to all who were offended by the remark. I am not a homophobic bigot, and I would never advocate intolerance of gay people.î
The Harrison controversy is the latest in a series involving Steelers players. Consider:
Roethlisberger was accused twice of sexual assault, one a civil case in Lake Tahoe, Nev., and the other in Milledgeville, Ga., in the past two years. The Nevada case remains in the courts, but Roethlisberger was never charged in Georgia. He was suspended for four games at the start of the 2010 season, though, for violating the leagueís personal conduct policy.
Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes, a former No. 1 pick, was released last spring for multiple incidents and legal issues during his brief tenure with the team.
Kicker Jeff Reed had several publicized incidents that were alcohol-related, the latest coming last summer when he jumped out of his car and assumed a fighting stance with police officers. After a bad start to the 2010 season, he was released.
Harrison has been a repeat lightning-rod for controversy, going back to when he skipped an invitation to the White House because he said he doesnít like to fly. He was also involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend in 2008, less than 10 days after former teammate Cedric Wilson was charged with assaulting his former girlfriend. Wilson was released; Harrison was not. The charges were later dropped against Harrison.
Make no mistake, he has taken some hits.
Former Redskinsí Pro Bowl linebacker LaVar Arrington said in a Washington Post blog that Harrisonís comments went way over the line and make him ěa horrible example to the people who look up to him.î
Chicago Bears defensive end Ervin Baldwin wrote on Twitter, ěMan just seen James Harrison comments. dude is a goon.î