Marvin Harrison Unfairly Criticized for Opening Business in Old Neighborhood

The accusation that Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison shot a man outside his North Philadelphia bar is extremely disturbing, and if it's true, Harrison deserves to suffer serious consequences.

But there's one thing that Harrison has been criticized for that is completely unfair: Opening that bar, as well as an auto garage, in that North Philly neighborhood.

Yesterday on ESPN, Skip Bayless and Sal Paolantonio both criticized Harrison for going back to his old neighborhood, referring to it as unsafe and dangerous and saying that Harrison deserves scrutiny simply for being there at all. They couldn't be more wrong for that.


There are any number of admirable reasons that Harrison might have had for opening a business in North Philadelphia and spending much of his time there when he's not in Indianapolis: Maybe he wants to be an example to young kids, to show them that it's possible for someone from the neighborhood to become successful. Maybe he still has friends and family there he enjoys seeing. Maybe he doesn't see it as a "bad neighborhood" at all, and he thinks it's a perfectly pleasant place.

It's been fascinating to watch the reaction to the Harrison case. Many Colts fans (like the first person who commented on my first post about it) have insisted that this couldn't possibly be true, which is ridiculous, while some in the media act as though he's required to live where they think rich people should live, which is also ridiculous.