 Harrison during an interview in 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 93, 53, 92[1] | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1978-05-04)May 4, 1978 (age 47) Akron, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 242 lb (110 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Coventry (Akron) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Kent State (1998–2001) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2002: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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James Henry Harrison Jr. (born May 4, 1978) is an American former professionalfootball player who was alinebacker in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theKent State Golden Flashes and was signed by thePittsburgh Steelers as anundrafted free agent in 2002. A five-timePro Bowl selection, Harrison won twoSuper Bowls with the Steelers:XL andXLIII. In 2008, he became the only undrafted player to be namedAssociated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Harrison was known for his hard-hitting style during games.
Harrison also played forNFL Europe'sRhein Fire and had brief stints with theBaltimore Ravens andCincinnati Bengals. After the 2013 season, he stated that he would be retiring from the NFL, but he came out of retirement to return to the Steelers, and spent part of his final NFL season with theNew England Patriots. Harrison ranks third on the Steelers' all-time sack leaders list, with 80.5. He currently appears on FS1 as a football analyst.
Born inAkron, Ohio, Harrison was the youngest of 14 children to James Sr. (a chemicaltruck driver) and Mildred. He playedLittle League baseball inScranton, Pennsylvania for Sloan Little League's Green Team. He was selected to the All-Star team in 1991.[2] He grew up in Akron, and his favorite NFL team was theCleveland Browns, who played only 40 miles from his house. Initially, his mother did not want him to play football. It took both Harrison and his best friend from childhood, David Walker, to convince her. When he started to play, he excelled at both linebacker and running back. He attended two high schools his freshman year,Archbishop Hoban High School thenCoventry High School, where, in addition to football, also participated intrack & field, competing in events ranging from the shot put to the high jump. He had PR of 15.63 meters (51 ft 3in) in theshot put, 38.86 meters in thediscus throw (127 ft 5 in) and 1.85 meters (6 ft 1 in) in thehigh jump.[3] He was also a state-qualifier in the4 × 100 m relay. Harrison along with Jonathan Holloman were two of the first African-Americans to play football at Coventry. Harrison graduated in 1998.[4][5]
His high school football ability was great, but his lack of maturity at times was a struggle. Harrison did not pay attention to his grades or college entrance tests, and by his senior year he had become disruptive to his football team. Early in his senior year, Coventry staff had to suspend him for two games for challenging an assistant coach to a fight. After he returned from his suspension, in his next game, he began the game by carrying 3 times for nearly 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. After his second TD, he ran down the opposing team's sideline, and was ejected and later suspended for one game for making obscene gestures to the fans. Harrison was in court soon thereafter, after he shot a BB gun in the school locker room towards a defensive coach. He pled guilty to a minor charge and was able to return to school to finish his senior year. Due to his off-the-field issues, powerhouse football programs likeOhio State,Notre Dame, andNebraska rescinded their scholarship offers.[6]
Harrison attendedKent State University andwalked on theKent State Golden Flashes football team. After sitting out his freshman season in 1998 due to NCAA academic guidelines, Harrison became a starter for the last three games of the 1999 season and led the team with 106 total tackles and 13 tackles for a loss. He also had an interception and three fumble recoveries.[7]
During his last collegiate game againstMiami University, Harrison finished with 12 tackles, 5 sacks, and a forced fumble. At the end of the fourth quarter, he sacked future teammate,Ben Roethlisberger on third and fourth down to seal a 24–20 victory. In 2001, he recorded 98 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss, and led the MAC conference with 15 sacks, while also being voted to first-team Mid-American Conference.
After graduating, he returned in 2010 to be inducted into Kent State's Varsity "K" Hall of Fame along withSan Diego Chargers tight end,Antonio Gates. Harrison also made a donation of $100k to his alma mater, who in turn named the field house in his honor. In 2013, Kent State retired Harrison's jersey number 16.[8]
Harrison went undrafted in the2002 NFL draft, as teams feared he was too short (six feet) to play linebacker, and too light (240 pounds) to play on the defensive line. A few teams did send him training camp invites.[9]The Steelers signed Harrison as anundrafted rookie in 2002, making him the first Kent Statealumnus to play at linebacker for the team sinceHall of FamerJack Lambert.
Harrison spent two years on and off thepractice squad for the Steelers, being released three times, and also was briefly on the active roster towards the end of the 2002 season, playing onlyspecial teams. Teammate and fellow linebacker,James Farrior, later toldNFL Network that Harrison was so green early on in his career that he would simply "give up" on plays on which he was struggling and even would ask the coaches not to play him when he was struggling.[10] Farrior said, "He was a knucklehead that didn't know the plays. We'd be in practice, in training camp, and he might not know what he was doing so he'd just stop and throw his hands up and tell (the coaches) to get him out of there. We thought the guy was crazy."[11]
Harrison wore number 93 during this period before adopting his more well known number 92, which at the time was worn by fellow linebacker andPro BowlerJason Gildon.
Harrison signed a reserve/future contract with theBaltimore Ravens on January 15, 2004.[12] He was allocated to theRhein Fire ofNFL Europe. He played in five games, all starts, for the Fire during the2004 NFL Europe season, recording 27 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles, and one pass breakup.[1] He was cut by the Ravens on June 17, 2004.[4][12]
After being cut for a fourth time, Harrison considered not playing anymore. Shortly thereafter, he was signed a fourth time by the Steelers duringtraining camp in 2004 afterClark Haggans sustained an injury in an offseasonweightlifting accident. Showing much improvement, Harrison made the final roster and remained with the Steelers through the 2012 season. Harrison later told theBeaver County Times that if not for Haggans's injury, he planned to retire from football at age 26 to focus on becoming aveterinarian, something that Harrison still plans on doing now that his football career has ended. Harrison also considered following in his father's footsteps to become atruck driver,[10] and to this day does have acommercial driver's license.[13]
Throughout the 2004 season, Harrison mostly played on special teams and on defense at linebacker, with occasional reps at defensive end. His first career start came against his hometown team, theCleveland Brownsin Cleveland on November 14 after teammateJoey Porter and Brownsrunning backWilliam Green were ejected for fighting during the pregame warm-ups. Harrison had a good game statistically in the Steelers' 24–10 victory against theirhated rival.
Harrison scored his first careertouchdown on afumble recovery in the final week of the season against theBuffalo Bills.
Harrisonstarted in three games of the 2005 season when starting linebacker Clark Haggans was injured. His biggest highlight of the year was in a game against theSan Diego Chargers, where he intercepted aDrew Brees pass for a 25-yard return. During the return, he made a huge leap overLaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers star running back.
Harrison gained some attention and popularity when he restrained aCleveland Browns fan during a 41–0 Pittsburgh win onChristmas Eve. The intoxicated fan was on the field when Harrison lifted the man and slammed him on the ground. Harrison restrained the fan until authorities took him away.[14]
The Steelers went on to winSuper Bowl XL that season. Although Harrison was not a major factor in the game, he did play and earn aSuper Bowl ring with the team, recording a team-high three special teams tackles.
In the 2007 offseason, with longtime head coachBill Cowher resigning after 15 seasons andMike Tomlin taking over the reins, the Steelers controversially cutJoey Porter for salary cap reasons. Although the Steelersdrafted two linebackers with their first two picks that year (Lawrence Timmons andLaMarr Woodley), Harrison was appointed the starter in place of Porter. The decision would ultimately pay off, as Harrison would go on to have a breakout season, makingAll-Pro Second-team and earning his first trip to thePro Bowl as a starter on the AFC squad.
On November 5, Harrison had a standout game onMonday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens. He piled up 9 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 interception. The most memorable moment of the game, however, was Harrison's tackle of BaltimoresafetyEd Reed. After a Steelers punt byDaniel Sepulveda, Reed had recovered the kick and was looking to return it. As Reed ran up the sidelines, he was blindsided by Harrison and the ball was knocked away from Reed's grasp. Pittsburgh linebackerLawrence Timmons immediately recovered the fumble. The Steelers would go on to blow out the Ravens, 38–7.[15]
On November 26, during aMonday Night Football game, an announcer gave Harrison the nickname, "Mr. Monday Night", because of his outstanding performance on November 5. He piled up 8.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 3 recovered fumbles, and 98 tackles on the year. He was voted team MVP for the 2007 season.
In the Steelers' Week 4Monday Night Football game against theBaltimore Ravens, Harrison recorded 10 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, and a forced fumble.[16][17]
Along withLaMarr Woodley, who by this point was a starter in his own right, after the team chose not to re-signClark Haggans the previous offseason, Harrison and Woodley had become arguably the team's best pass-rushing duo sinceGreg Lloyd andKevin Greene in1994.[18] Harrison amassed 16 sacks, breaking the team record set byMike Merriweather in1984. The two teammates set a team record with 27.5 sacks.
Harrison also played special teams on a regular basis, making him one of the few regular NFL starters to also play special teams. His most notable special teams play for 2008, however, arguably cost the Steelers their game against theNew York Giants in Week 8. With the Steelers leading 14–12 in the fourth quarter and having topunt from their own end zone, Harrison played aslong snapper after regular long snapperGreg Warren suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier in the game. Harrison inadvertently snapped it overMitch Berger's head for asafety, tying the score.[19]
On January 5, 2009, Harrison was named the APNFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2008 season, beating out Cowboys linebackerDeMarcus Ware for the award.[20] Harrison became the first undrafted player to win the award.[21][22]
DuringSuper Bowl XLIII, Harrison made his most famous play when he intercepted a pass fromCardinals quarterbackKurt Warner at the goal line and ran back the length of the field for a 100-yardtouchdown at the end of the first half. In a memorable scene, Harrison collapsed in the endzone and spent several minutes regaining his breath as his teammates celebrated. It was the longest play in Super Bowl history (surpassingDesmond Howard's 99-yard kickoff return inSuper Bowl XXXI, being broken byJacoby Jones inSuper Bowl XLVII with a 108-yard kickoff return) and helped the Steelers defeat the Arizona Cardinals 27–23.[23] It was also the longest interception return in Steelers franchise history, surpassing the 99-yard return byMartin "Butch" Kottler which occurred in the club'ssecond ever game and was the oldest team record on the books.[24]
Before the game,Gregg Easterbrook (author ofTuesday Morning Quarterback fromPage 2 onESPN.com) named Harrison the 2008Tuesday Morning Quarterback Non-QB Non-RB NFL MVP.[25] When receiving thetrophy for the award, Harrison said he never even heard of the award.[26] The week before, Easterbrook named Harrison to his annualAll-Unwanted All-Pros due to his struggles earlier in his career of having been cut four times, three by the Steelers.[27]
On February 7, 2009, Harrison was parodied onSaturday Night Live'sWeekend Update by cast memberKenan Thompson. Thompson depicted Harrison as being seemingly still out of breath and exhausted after his 100-yard interception return in the Super Bowl the week before.
On April 13, 2009, it was reported that Harrison signed a 6-year, $51.75 million contract extension with the Steelers.[28]In four games in October Harrison had 7.0 sacks, 25 tackles, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He earned AFC defensive player of the month honors for October.[29] Harrison ended the Season with 79 tackles, 60 of them being solo, and 10 sacks. This outstanding performance made him a starter in thePro Bowl that year. AlthoughHeath Miller,LaMarr Woodley, andCasey Hampton were named Pro Bowlers as well, Harrison was the only starter from his team.
Harrison's 2010 season was marred by committing several penalties and fouls. He was fined for the hits that were deemed to be illegal by referees and the NFL. In Week 2, Harrison was fined for flippingVince Young of the Titans.[30] On October 17, he knocked out two Browns wide receivers;Mohammed Massaquoi, and his former college teammate,Josh Cribbs. On Halloween against the Saints, he hit quarterbackDrew Brees late from behind. Against the Raiders, he hit another QB,Jason Campbell. The following week at Buffalo, another incident occurred whenRyan Fitzpatrick had thrown a complete pass toDavid Nelson, Harrison came out of the line andspeared Fitzpatrick. Harrison was fined an estimated $120,000 in total.[31]
In 2010 Harrison logged 100 tackles total, 70 solo tackles, 10.5 sacks, 2 interceptions and 6 forced fumbles.[32]
Harrison would help the Steelers reach the Super Bowl for the third time in six years. InSuper Bowl XLV, Harrison recorded a sack onAaron Rodgers, but lost 31–25 to theGreen Bay Packers.[33] Harrison was ranked 21st by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2011.[34]
In 2011, Harrison recorded 59 tackles and nine sacks in 11 games.[35] In 2012, he had six sacks and 70 tackles.[36]
On March 9, 2013, Harrison was released by the Steelers for salary cap reasons after they could not agree on a pay cut.[37]
_2013.jpg)
Harrison signed with theCincinnati Bengals on April 23, 2013. He recorded 30 total tackles (16 solo), 2 sacks and an interception in limited playing time.[38] On March 13, 2014, he was released by the Bengals.[39]
On August 30, 2014, Harrison announced his retirement and officially retired as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 5, 2014.[40]
On September 23, 2014, rumors surfaced that Harrison was set to return to the NFL after Mike Tomlin noted in a press conference that there were significant injuries suffered by members of the Steelers defense.[41] The Steelers posted a message on theirTwitter page announcing that Harrison would return to the Steelers.[42] He officially signed with the Steelers that same day.[43] Harrison recorded 45 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 11 games.[44]
On March 22, 2015, Harrison signed a two-year extension with Pittsburgh for $2.65 million and a $500k signing bonus.[45]
On February 17, 2016, Harrison announced that he would be returning for a 14th season with the team.
On November 20, 2016, Harrison surpassedJason Gildon to become the Steelers' all-time sack leader with 77.5, during a 24–9 win over theCleveland Browns and finished the season with 79.5 sacks during his Steelers career.[46] On January 8, 2017, he recorded ten combined tackles, sackedMatt Moore 1½ times, and forced a fumble in a 30–12 AFC Wildcard victory over theMiami Dolphins.[47]
On March 1, 2017, Harrison signed a two-year contract extension with the Steelers.[48] Through the first 12 games of the 2017 season, Harrison played only 29 snaps, with 15 of those coming in Week 6 against theKansas City Chiefs. Following injuries toRyan Shazier andTyler Matakevich and the subsequent move ofArthur Moats from the outside to the inside linebacker position, Harrison played 11 snaps in Week 14 against theBaltimore Ravens. On December 23, 2017, Harrison was released by the Steelers after only playing in five games and being a healthy scratch for most of the season.[49][50]
On December 26, 2017, Harrison signed a one-year contract with theNew England Patriots.[51] In his Patriots debut, Harrison registered two sacks, a forcedfumble, and five total tackles against theNew York Jets.[52] The Patriots went on to reachSuper Bowl LII, but lost 41–33 to thePhiladelphia Eagles.
On April 16, 2018, Harrison announced his second retirement from the NFL after 15 seasons, saying in anInstagram post, "I’ve missed way too much for way too long...I’m done".[53][54]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| NFL Defensive Player of the Year | |
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2002 | PIT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | PIT | 16 | 4 | 50 | 39 | 11 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2005 | PIT | 16 | 3 | 57 | 43 | 14 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 25 | 0 | 3 |
| 2006 | PIT | 11 | 1 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 98 | 76 | 22 | 8.5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 | 2 |
| 2008 | PIT | 15 | 15 | 101 | 67 | 34 | 16.0 | 7 | 0 | -18 | 1 | 33 | 33.0 | 33 | 0 | 3 |
| 2009 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 79 | 60 | 19 | 10.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 100 | 70 | 30 | 10.5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 2011 | PIT | 11 | 11 | 59 | 48 | 11 | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | PIT | 13 | 13 | 70 | 49 | 21 | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | CIN | 15 | 10 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | PIT | 11 | 4 | 45 | 29 | 16 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | PIT | 15 | 1 | 40 | 27 | 13 | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| 2016 | PIT | 15 | 7 | 53 | 39 | 14 | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017 | PIT | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NE | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career[12] | 193 | 117 | 811 | 583 | 228 | 84.5 | 34 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 95 | 12.0 | 33 | 0 | 24 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2004 | PIT | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | PIT | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | PIT | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 100.0 | 100T | 1 | 1 |
| 2010 | PIT | 3 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2011 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | CIN | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | PIT | 2 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | PIT | 3 | 3 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | NE | 3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career[12] | 22 | 14 | 93 | 67 | 26 | 11.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 100.0 | 100T | 1 | 3 | |
%2c_Jan_2019.jpg)
Harrison plays Apocalypse onHeels.[55] Harrison also appeared onS.W.A.T. in the Season 2 episode "The B-Team", playing Marcus King, the social media manager for theLos Angeles Fire Department when the LAFD goes against theLos Angeles Police Department in a charity competition.[56][57]
As well as being nicknamed "Silverback", Harrison's teammates also call him Deebo, after the character from theFriday movies.[58]
Harrison has two sons, James III, born in 2007, and Henry, born in 2009.[59] Harrison made the news in August 2015 for refusing to let either of his sons keep student-athlete awards that were deemedparticipation trophies they had received from a sports program. In anInstagram post, Harrison wrote: "While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy [...]". Harrison's post was mostly met with positive feedback.[60]
Harrison elected not to visit theWhite House with the rest of the team after the Steelers wonSuper Bowl XLIII. Skipping the visit gained some media attention, as Harrison said thatBarack Obama (who supported the Steelers in the game and considers his second favorite NFL team after his hometown team,Chicago Bears)[61] would have invited theArizona Cardinals had they won: "This is how I feel — if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, he [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won."[62] Harrison had also skipped the team's visit after winningSuper Bowl XL whenGeorge W. Bush waspresident.
Harrison was arrested in March 2008 and was charged withsimple assault andcriminal mischief stemming from a domestic altercation with his girlfriend, Beth Tibbott.[63] On April 3, 2008, the district attorney dropped all charges because Harrison had completedanger management counseling and psychological counseling.[64]
The arrest gained some controversy after the team releasedwide receiverCedrick Wilson in a similar, but unrelated, incident around the same time but did not release Harrison. The Steelers even issued apress release shortly after they released Wilson stating that Harrison's incident and Wilson's incident were examined "on a case-by-case basis" and Wilson's incident determined that his warranted release while Harrison had "taken responsibility for his actions."[65] Steelers ownerDan Rooney, a lifelong devoutCatholic, added that the incident was concerning their son'sbaptism, that Harrison's girlfriend reportedly did not want their son baptized, and that Harrison promptly called theRooney family about the incident.[10] Nonetheless, there were still accusations of adouble standard because of the timing of both Harrison's and Wilson's incidents.[66][67][68][69] The NFL, which had beencracking down on off-the-field conduct, took no action in either incident.
On May 23, 2009, Harrison's son, James III, sustained an injury to his thigh when the family'spit bull became agitated and bit him. The boy's mother,[70] Beth Tibbott, who had let the dog out of his cage, was also bitten when she tried to intervene. The dog also bit the player's massage therapist, who needed three stitches. Harrison's agent, William Parise, said the boy's injuries were "serious but certainly not life-threatening."[71] Three days later, James III was released from the hospital.[72] The pit bull was scheduled to be euthanized but, through the team, Harrison was able to place the dog in a temporary home which specializes in training aggressive dogs.[73]
On July 13, 2011, a controversial magazine article titled "James Harrison: Confessions of an NFL Hitman" was published by Paul Solotaroff inMen's Journal.[74] In the article, Harrison was asked multiple questions about who he is and why he plays the game of football the way he does. The controversy comes into play when Harrison begins talking about the NFL commissionerRoger Goodell. Harrison called Goodell a "crook and a puppet", and then proceeded to say that, "I hate him and will never respect him." Harrison also made comments towards his quarterback,Ben Roethlisberger, and other players in the National Football League such asBrian Cushing. Harrison released an apology for his statements on July 14, 2011.[75]
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