NFL Hall-of-Famer James Harrison stirred the pot of controversy during Barstool’s “Going Deep,” podcast May 6th. The former Steelers great stated now Head Coach Mike Tomlin handed Harrison an undisclosed envelope after a brutally violent hit against Cleveland Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.
Quick analysis initially said that Pittsburgh created a bounty-system (which is morally/ethically wrong and illegal in the NFL) in which a player (that being Harrison) is paid (given some illegal reward) to hurt a player for another team during a live game. The first team to get caught and swiftly punished for “Bountygate,” was the 2010 New Orleans Saints against the Minnesota Vikings and specifically quarterback, Brett Favre.
Harrison quickly retracted his comments on Instagram to clarify his previous comments stating: “Wow y'all really comparing what I said to BOUNTYGATE?!?," Harrison wrote. "Mike T. Has NEVER paid me for hurting someone or TRYING to hurt someone or put a bounty on ANYBODY! If you knew the full story of what happened back then you'd know that BS fine for a Legal Play wasn't even penalized during the game."
Harrison was fined $75,000 by the NFL for the vicious hit and Steelers President Art Rooney II vehemently denied any such bounties or instructions were ever made.
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