http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5864038 

And he has been fined twice again already.

And we're all waiting for the ruling on his HELMET to HELMET hit on Fitzpatrick yesterday.

So here are the facts:

1. Harrisons first offense was a much lower fine.

2. Harrisons hits are much more likely to cause injury.

3. He still hasn't learned his lesson. The hit on Fitzy was clearly avoidable.

4. Steelers fans don't want to hear reason.

Andy, the league is cracking down on violence as it relates to player injury.

A few punches are bad PR and deserved the fine, but they are not related to the crack down on illegal head shots.

Harrison continues to lead with his helmet despite the fines.

And he openly denies any wrong doing despite hard video evidence to the contrary.

He may as well be thumbing his nose at the cop as he speeds past while going over the speed limit.

Tailgater............I:hear your reasons, but I and others (not only Steelers fans) don't agree with them.

There are countless players leading with their helmets and the video "evidence" is marginal and subject to interpretation. AND....since I don't acknowledge all of the previous fines as being legitimate and warranted; then it is hard for me to accept the "repeat offender" claim. It is easy for the NFL to make a player a "repeat offender"..............they just have to fine him a bunch of times with each additional nonsense fine being justified by the previous.

Remember too that Harrison's "record" of illegal hits was accumulated somewhat retroactively, i.e......................"from NOW on the NFL will not tolerate helmet-helmet...........and by the way we are going through old tape ".

My opinion, being as reasonable as I am able to be, is that Harrison and the Steelers are being made to be an example.

While I do not want to see any player go out of his way to intentionally hurt another player.............I also do not want to watch the NATIONAL FLAG FOOTBALL LEAGUE every week in the fall.I do agree with Andy......Harrison has been picked as their poster child for this particuliar soapbox gathering.

Ron

They have made him the poster boy. Feel bad for him and those fines.....plus the steelers are my FFL defense.

Helmet to helmet? I thought it was a helmet to the chest of Fitzpatrick

I don't know for sure.

Maybe it is because he didn't adopt the company line after Goodell's meeting. Maybe there is something going on between the Rooneys and the NFL.

Hard to say.

It could just be that the league wants to see higher scoring games where offensive players shine. More people buy QB jerseys than linebacker jerseys. If the NFL wanted to change the way the game was played to become more of an offensive showcase; the Steelers would be a great team to start picking on.

Maybe it's none of this. Who knows why anyone does anything?

http://www.cigarbid.com/Forum/cb_postst600119_More-dirty-football--------.aspx 

The Steelers are being targeted by the league.

In much the same way that the Cincinnati Bengals have been targeted by law enforcement in recent years.

So sorry.

When one team is penalized more yards than the opposing team is able to gain offensively I think it is a clear indication of how poor the referee-ing has become as a result of the NFL's changing of the rules from week-to-week.

My favorite color is bubblegum but don't you hate it when the rainbow gets hot.

You are citing unrelated issues here.

What I'm trying to say is that Harrision gets fined more because he commits the offense repeatedly.

To blame the league for enforcing the rules is like the Bengals blaming the cops for arresting their law breakers.

Now, with that said, I'm not saying that the league rules are good or that I agree with the rule.

Just that Harrison isn't a target because in reality he DID break the existing rules.

Side Note:

Tomlin is an idiot.

His recent quote about the $125k being the tuition for Harrison's kids??

Are you serious??

How far away from reality do you have to be when you cry about financial sacrifices for mulit-millionaires?

That's as stupid as stupid gets, and it's insulting to the blue collar fans who make real sacrifices just to attend their games.

Shame on him.

I lost a lot of respect for him when I heard that this morning.

Just what does the NFL do with all that money anyway???

And I don't care how much money the guy has, $125K is still a lot of money. I'd bet it's more than a lot of people/fans make in a year. And at the pace he is being fined the season could end up costing him a 1/4mil. Anyway you look at it that's not chicken feed he's paying out. Do you think this may contribute to ticket prices going up next year??? Who knows.

As for Tomlin... I'm sure he's frustrated too. I know I am as a fan of all football, just not the Steelers.

What do you mean the league is changing the rules week to week?

At what point did they say that helmet to helmet hits are OK? I don't recall that.

As for a perceived inconsistency? Sure. But no more than any other "judgement call" such as the strike zone in MLB or a foul in the NBA. A fan will ALWAYS see a certain play from his own team's perspective.

"Do you think this may contribute to ticket prices going up next year???"

How the hell would this influence ticket prices?

And Tomlin can be frustrated, but to make that assinine statement is beyond belief.

How out of touch have these players/coaches become? It's dispicable.

...but we're against taxing the rich and redistributing in general.

He seemed to be saying that....yes..........$125K is a big chunk of money, and that money could buy college tuition for two kids.

I agree that he could have come up with a better comparison.........or just left it unsaid.

But he's a coach, not a professional orator............also he likes to use big words like "tuition".

Actually, he didn't use the "big word" (tuition)

His quote:

"We talk about the money like it's Monopoly money sometimes just because these guys happen to be professional athletes. [One-hundred thousand] is [$100,000], I don't care how much money you make. I take offense at times just in general how all of us talk about the money. He's got two kids. That's some serious college schooling right there potentially for those kids 16, 18 years from now."

That quotation clearly implies that the multi-millionaire James Harrison may have difficulty "schooling" his kids because of the fines.

I agree with his assessment that it's a serios chunk of dough and it's not monopoly money.

But to suggest that he'll somehow have difficulty sending his kids off to college?

Please. That's a load of crap and it just shows that the people involved in industries where 7 figures are the norm simply can't grasp the concept of reality when it comes to financial matters.

I don't begrudge the players and coaches for making whatever they can. I do, however, take exception when they try to cry about hardships that simply don't exist in their world. This is akin to players who chase the big dough and use comments like "taking food away from my kids" when a "low" offer is tendered.

Tomlin is a great coach and supposedly a smart guy. But he chose the wrong topic to make his invalid point.