Last week, Steelers linebacker and Super Bowl champion James Harrison told the media that he had no interest in being honored, along with his teammates, at the White House. Not because he's a McCain-Palin guy -- Harrison skipped out on the trip in 2006 when George W. Bush was in office -- but because ... well, I have no idea. "If you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, he [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won," he said.
So, yeah, I'm not following the logic, but I don't think Harrison was trying to make a larger philosophical point. Instead, he used a lot of words to say: "I don't want to go." And had he just stated as much, that would have been that.
Didn't happen. And that led to Snyder's diatribe which, even as a Steelers fan, I have a hard time disagreeing with. Of course, Harrison's shtick is being surly and enigmatic; he says seemingly random things when all he wants is to be left alone so he can work out.
After practice today, Harrison addressed his anti-White House stance:
"Let me ask you a question," Harrison asked reporters who greeted him coming off the practice field today. "Why is it a big issue now that I'm not going if it wasn't a big issue the last time?" ...That was my first thought, too: if Harrison doesn't want to take a half-day for a photo-op with President Obama, he's clearly into the dark arts. In reality, there's nothing to this; Harrison doesn't want to go, just like three years ago*. Works for me.
"Hey, James ain't changed," Harrison responded. "I guess my profile did but I didn't change. I'm not going because I don't want to go." He added, seemingly in a joking manner, that the White House is not in the safest area of Washington, D.C.
"It's not a good neighborhood over there either," Harrison said. "It's a bad neighborhood. ... They're making a big deal out of this: 'Oh, my, James Harrison is not going to the White House, he must be a devil worshiper!'"
During yesterday's Pardon the Interruption -- after Harrison's initial remarks but before today's clarification -- Bob Ryan, filling in for the newly MNF-less Tony Kornheiser, argued that these comments will follow Harrison for the rest of his career. Because (and I'm paraphrasing), they're outrageous and illogical.
I'm a big fan of Ryan's work, but let's keep some perspective, please. As co-host Michael Wilbon pointed out, let's not confuse Harrison for Arthur Ashe. We don't need to spend hours analyzing his words for the underlying social message.
It comes down to this: James likes lifting weights. That's what motivates him. And when the Steelers visit the White House on Thursday, guess what he'll do? "Work out, run, get ready." Shocking.
* UPDATE: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette hears from a well-placed source that Harrison is afraid to fly and "and is a 'wreck' whenever he must take team flights." Hey, Superman has Kryptonite, Deebo has air travel. Now that ESPN no longer has a need for the Mr. Tonymobile, maybe they'll loan it to Harrison for a few days.
