Harrison and company caught in the middle
The NFL and NFLPA are playing a game of chicken and right now, some players are getting caught in the middle.
Steelers linebacker James Harrison is one of them.
One of a handful of players named in an Al Jazeera report – all high-profile players, surprisingly enough – Harrison has vehemently denied any use of PEDs in his past. In fact, he sent the league a signed affidavit saying just that. And, as Harrison noted, he has never tested positive for any banned substance.
But the league is sticking to its guns on this one, saying that Harrison, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and Mike Neal all will be suspended if they don’t submit to interviews by Aug. 25.
And the NFLPA is telling the players not to submit.
Peyton Manning already sat down with the league regarding the issue. But since he’s retired, he has nothing to lose. After all, what are they going to do, suspend him from future commercials?
For the other players involved, however, it’s a dicey situation. Do you submit to the interviews, which were brought about by a statement that has since been recanted? Or do you keep playing hardball and hope the NFLPA has your back?
Guess we’ll find out.
But the league is still smarting from all of the Tom Brady publicity surrounding Deflategate just as much as the NFLPA is from losing that suspension in the court of law.
And Harrison and company are the ones paying the price.
It seems like a simple thing to do, sit down for an interview. That’s especially true if you’ve done nothing wrong.
This, however, goes way beyond that. After all, what constitutes a reputable story?