Steelers’ James Harrison fined $20,000 for late hit on Drew Brees

Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison has been fined $20,000 for a late hit on New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Harrison has now been fined three times by the NFL this season for a total of $100,000. The hit on Brees came in Sunday’s loss to the Saints.

He was previously fined $75,000 for his helmet hit Oct. 17 on Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, a penalty handed out during the week the NFL adopted its tougher stance on hits to the head and neck.

Harrison also was fined $5,000 for a hard hit on Titans quarterback Vince Young on Sept. 19.

The latest fine was given to Harrison two days after he met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the NFL’s stricter policy. Afterward, Harrison termed Tuesday’s meeting “semi-productive.”

Goodell requested the meeting with Harrison, held Tuesday at league headquarters in New York during the Steelers’ day off. Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert accompanied Harrison.

“It was just for him to hear my side of things and for them to help me understand exactly what the rules are as far as helmet-to-helmet contact,” Harrison said Wednesday. “So I spoke my mind. They said what they had to say. We had a semi-productive meeting, I guess. … I came away with a better understanding, and I think they got a better understanding of how I see things.”

Harrison’s major complaint is when a defensive player tries to avoid dangerous contact, but an offensive player inadvertently instigates it by ducking his head. Harrison insists that occurred on the Massaquoi hit, one of two by Harrison that caused concussions to Browns receivers.

His teammate Troy Polamalu, a five-time Pro Bowl safety, is even more critical of the NFL’s policy than Harrison is. Polamalu contends Goodell has too much control, and that players and team executives should have a say in deciding fines.

“He’s got all the power, and that may be part of the problem. There needs to be some type of separation of power, like our government,” Polamalu said Wednesday. “I don’t think it should be based totally on what two or three people may say that are totally away from the game. It should be some of the players that are currently playing.”

Since the NFL announced its stricter policy, Polamalu said, “There is definitely a paranoia that is unneeded. Just because we had a few weekends ago, I think somebody said, five [suspect] hits out of 1,000. Yeah, I think there is too much paranoia.”

Polamalu also believes the NFL’s stance could lessen the sport’s popularity in Europe, where the 49ers and Broncos played on Sunday. The NFL is aggressively marketing its game overseas, with talk that London could have a franchise within 10 years.

“If people want to watch soccer, they can watch soccer. The people who are attracted to this game, they’re going to see the big hits, they don’t care about touchdowns,” Polamalu said. “So you’re also taking apart what attracts people to this game.”