Less than a month after Harrison made headlines for comments made in a Men’s Journal article – he is officially backpedaling:
“The interview that I did and the comments that I made about Roger Goodell were inappropriate, at the least,” Harrison said. “They were way out of line, and I was speaking out of anger and frustration at the time. Any comments that I made that offended anyone, I apologize.”
Harrison was undoubtedly under a lot of pressure from Steelers management to do this and while I’m not surprised it really was unexpected.
Being a premier linebacker in the NFL Harrison appeared to be in the driver’s seat on this one. Not that this sort of thing could go on over time, but one article during a time when he was technically unemployed seemed fair enough. It’s not like the Steelers were going to cut him over this, he isn’t John Rocker after all – his comments were personal and unlike Rocker – Harrison is good.
This also demonstrates, regardless of the new CBA – how much control the league still has over its players. Harrison had to of felt compelled in some way to backtrack on his statements – and it isn’t due to the fact that he truly thinks they were inappropriate.