I’d guess he’d be a very blunt tree, one that was weary of being jerked around/exploited by the National Football League. In what might be a first for a Super Bowl media day, Steelers LB Harrison actually had something interesting to say about the league, with the following comments reported by the AP and Fox Sports :
Harrison said before Wednesday’s practice leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl the NFL is more interested in maximizing revenue than the health of its players.
“It’s not about player safety,” Harrison said. “It’s about them making money.”
Among key issues the NFL and union are expected to discuss over the next several weeks include the league’s push to extend the regular season from 16 games to 18; a rookie wage scale; benefits for retired players; and the owners wanting players to cede an additional $1 billion of the gross revenues up front.
“I don’t think it’s a good thing if you’re so worried about player safety,” Harrison said of an 18-game season, calling it “crazy.”
“You don’t go and lock your players out and take away the health insurance from people that have wives and kids on the way,” he added. “You lock us out and health insurance is gone.”
Someone wondered if the league might be trying to eliminate the violent hits Harrison has become known for.
“If you want to get it totally out of the game, put flags on us,” he said. “We’ll tag off and pull flags off each other and we’ll see how popular the game is then and how many people come to watch it.”