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Glorious career tainted
By Tony Massarotti
Boston Herald Sports Columnist
Saturday, September 1, 2007 - Updated: 12:29 AM EST
We admired Rodney Harrison [stats], which is really what makes this all so sad. And no matter what Harrison did, no matter what he says, the truth is that we can never really look at him the same way again.
Harrison knows this, of course, which is why his words last night were filled with contrition, disappointment, maybe even a little sorrow. He always had the brain to go with the brawn. Now Harrison has a very big smudge on what was otherwise a truly distinguished NFL career, and a man who has caused so much anguish for opposing players is now in the business of minimizing damage rather than inflicting it.
http://oascentral.bostonherald.com/...lex.com/ad/ck/2763-50709-8675-0?mpt=598167768
“I want to make it clear that not once did I ever use steroids,” Harrison said last night during a conference call on which he issued a statement after it was learned that he has been suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. “I did in fact admit to the commissioner that I used a banned substance.” (ESPN reported that it was human growth hormone.)
The spin? Publicly, at least, Harrison said that he used the substance to “accelerate the healing process” from the many injuries he has endured in recent years, and that might be the absolute truth.
The problem is that we just don’t know what or whom to believe anymore. We now live in a steroid era that has brought into question the accomplishments of athletes on fields of all kinds, and even the ones who have tested clean prompt us to cast a wary eye.
Now comes Harrison, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound man who plays a game dominated by much larger men, who throws his body around with reckless abandon. It all makes sense now, doesn’t it? Football players are an anomaly to begin with, uniquely ferocious men in an even more ferocious game. To think that Barry Bonds looks for an edge while someone like Harrison does not is absurdly naive, and it was only a matter of time before the biggest ongoing scandal in sports landed with a thud in our neatly groomed back yard.
So now Harrison’s reputation is tainted, forever, and the reputation of his team is tainted with it. The Patriots [team stats] like to pride themselves on being a model sports franchise, a good team with good people. Now one of the true leaders of their team has the look of a cheater, and maybe a little of the shine just came off at least two of those three Super Bowl trophies.
If you are a fan of Harrison - and most of us are - you really cannot have it both ways.
“This is something I’ve done. It’s nothing that my teammates were involved in,” Harrison said. “I would ask that you give them the respect, not to badger them with questions.”
Added the safety: “I apologize to the entire New England Patriots [team stats] organization and the fans who have supported me so faithfully.”
So what happens now? Harrison sits for four games before returning to the Patriots secondary, and it really is not important how the Patriots will fare without him. The Pats always seem to make do. By all accounts, Harrison will return to the Patriots in time for a Week 5 meeting in Foxboro against Cleveland, and it won’t be long before he is tossing his body around again on the Gillette Stadium field as if he were a professional wrestler.
The NFL undoubtedly is filled with more than its share of chemically enhanced players, though we all know the difference: Harrison got caught.
On more than one occasion, Harrison has referred to himself as just a fifth-round draft selection out of Western Illinois, yet he has ascended to greatness during his 13-year NFL career. He is the only player in league history with at least 25 sacks and 30 interceptions.
“I haven’t made excuses nor will I make excuses,” said Harrison, whose stand-up nature has made him a symbol of strength. “I made a mistake and I’m sorry for that.”
So are we.
By Tony Massarotti
Boston Herald Sports Columnist
Saturday, September 1, 2007 - Updated: 12:29 AM EST
We admired Rodney Harrison [stats], which is really what makes this all so sad. And no matter what Harrison did, no matter what he says, the truth is that we can never really look at him the same way again.
Harrison knows this, of course, which is why his words last night were filled with contrition, disappointment, maybe even a little sorrow. He always had the brain to go with the brawn. Now Harrison has a very big smudge on what was otherwise a truly distinguished NFL career, and a man who has caused so much anguish for opposing players is now in the business of minimizing damage rather than inflicting it.
http://oascentral.bostonherald.com/...lex.com/ad/ck/2763-50709-8675-0?mpt=598167768
“I want to make it clear that not once did I ever use steroids,” Harrison said last night during a conference call on which he issued a statement after it was learned that he has been suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. “I did in fact admit to the commissioner that I used a banned substance.” (ESPN reported that it was human growth hormone.)
The spin? Publicly, at least, Harrison said that he used the substance to “accelerate the healing process” from the many injuries he has endured in recent years, and that might be the absolute truth.
The problem is that we just don’t know what or whom to believe anymore. We now live in a steroid era that has brought into question the accomplishments of athletes on fields of all kinds, and even the ones who have tested clean prompt us to cast a wary eye.
Now comes Harrison, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound man who plays a game dominated by much larger men, who throws his body around with reckless abandon. It all makes sense now, doesn’t it? Football players are an anomaly to begin with, uniquely ferocious men in an even more ferocious game. To think that Barry Bonds looks for an edge while someone like Harrison does not is absurdly naive, and it was only a matter of time before the biggest ongoing scandal in sports landed with a thud in our neatly groomed back yard.
So now Harrison’s reputation is tainted, forever, and the reputation of his team is tainted with it. The Patriots [team stats] like to pride themselves on being a model sports franchise, a good team with good people. Now one of the true leaders of their team has the look of a cheater, and maybe a little of the shine just came off at least two of those three Super Bowl trophies.
If you are a fan of Harrison - and most of us are - you really cannot have it both ways.
“This is something I’ve done. It’s nothing that my teammates were involved in,” Harrison said. “I would ask that you give them the respect, not to badger them with questions.”
Added the safety: “I apologize to the entire New England Patriots [team stats] organization and the fans who have supported me so faithfully.”
So what happens now? Harrison sits for four games before returning to the Patriots secondary, and it really is not important how the Patriots will fare without him. The Pats always seem to make do. By all accounts, Harrison will return to the Patriots in time for a Week 5 meeting in Foxboro against Cleveland, and it won’t be long before he is tossing his body around again on the Gillette Stadium field as if he were a professional wrestler.
The NFL undoubtedly is filled with more than its share of chemically enhanced players, though we all know the difference: Harrison got caught.
On more than one occasion, Harrison has referred to himself as just a fifth-round draft selection out of Western Illinois, yet he has ascended to greatness during his 13-year NFL career. He is the only player in league history with at least 25 sacks and 30 interceptions.
“I haven’t made excuses nor will I make excuses,” said Harrison, whose stand-up nature has made him a symbol of strength. “I made a mistake and I’m sorry for that.”
So are we.
