Former NFLer James Harrison Clarifies Mike Tomlin ‘Never Paid Me for Hurting Someone’

*Former Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison hit up Instagram to silence talk about another possible #bountygate scandal. 

During a recent conversation with the hosts of the Going Deep with Chad and JT podcast, Harrison was asked about the biggest fine he had ever received during his playing days,

His answer? The helmet hit he delivered on Cleveland Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi in 2010 that resulted in a $75,000 fine. You can watch the moment here.  

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James Harrison: “The G-est thing Mike Tomlin ever did — he handed me an envelope after [hitting Mohamed Massaquoi].”

James Harrison’s Agent: pic.twitter.com/St2MldOM68

— Donny Chedrick (@DonChed54) May 15, 2020

“Listen, everything I love, on my daddy’s grave, I hit that man with about, max, 50 percent of what I had, and I just hit because I wanted him to let loose of the ball,” Harrison recalled, via The Root. “If I had known they were going to fine me $75,000, I would have tried to kill him. Dude, I’m telling you, 75?”

Adding, “I ain’t going to lie to you. When that happened, right? The G-est thing [Pittsburg Steeler’s coach] Mike Tomlin ever did, he handed me an envelope after that. I ain’t going to say what, but he handed me an envelope after that.”

Fans quickly assumed this was linked to the original Bountygate controversy— in which members of the New Orleans Saints  were accused of paying out bonuses, or “bounties”, for injuring opposing team players.

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Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement that he was “very certain nothing like this ever happened” with Harrison, and his longtime agent co-signed, saying: “Absolutely not. Never happened,” Bill Parise told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I would have known that. It didn’t happen.”

Now Harrison himself has weighed in with a lengthy statement on Instagram to clarify his comments.

“Wow y’all really comparing what I said to BOUNTYGATE?!? Mike T. Has NEVER paid me for hurting someone or TRYING to hurt someone or put a bounty on ANYBODY!” he posted. “AGAIN AT NO TIME did Mike T. EVER suggest anybody hurt anybody or that they’d be rewarded for anything like that. GTFOH with that BS!!!”

You can read his full post below.

Still — inquiring minds want to know, what was in the envelope?

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Wow y’all really comparing what I said to BOUNTYGATE?!? 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. The league was getting pressure because the first concussion lawsuits were starting and they had to look like they cared about player safety all of a sudden. Before that they had been SELLING a photo of THAT SAME PLAY FOR $55 on the NFL website with other videos of the NFL’S GREATEST HITS that the league Profited On back then. When the league had to start pretending like they cared about player safety they took all those things down off their website and they started fining guys ridiculous amounts for the same plays they used to profit off of. EVERYBODY knew it – even these same media people and all the fans that were sending money to me and the team to cover the fine. AGAIN AT NO TIME did Mike T. EVER suggest anybody hurt anybody or that they’d be rewarded for anything like that. GTFOH with that BS!!! #receipts

A post shared by James Harrison (@jhharrison92) on May 15, 2020 at 7:40am PDT

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