James Harrison Tells the Tale of 'Assassin' Colbert, Mike Tomlin's G-est Moment
There was no hiding James Harrison's lethal hits from those who had the privilege to watch him during his 15-year career. The All-Pro linebacker was known for his jaw-wrenching hits, which only became more understandable when we started witnessing his insane workouts through social media.
On the field, though, Harrison has left some marks on the NFL, and his bank account. One of the most memorable - and cost-worthy - hits of the linebacker's career was on Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.
The league fined Harrison $75,000 for hitting Massaquoi with his helmet, but the story following the NFL's action is what'll catch your attention.
In an interview with Willie Colon on his podcast "Going Deep", Harrison tells the tale of what happened after the hit, starting with how he didn't even put his all into what ended up being a TKO tackle.
"Listen, on everything I love, on my daddy’s grave, I hit that man with about 50 percent of what I had and I just hit him because I wanted him to let loose of the ball," Harrison told Colon. "If i had knew they was gonna fine me $75,000, I would have tried to kill him."
Then, things got interesting.
"Dude, I’m telling you, 75? And I ain’t gonna lie to you, when that happened, right? the G-est thing Mike Tomlin ever did, he handed me an envelope after that," Harrison continued. "I ain’t gonna say what, but he handed me an envelope after that."
After the fine, Harrison had to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to address how he's supposed to tackle without hurting players.
At this point, Harrison already addressed on the podcast how he developed a code with wide receivers where they'd ask him to hit high so he wouldn't damage their knees, etc., and in return they'd pay his fines.
But moving on. Headed to New York, Harrison is joined by Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert.
"They send me with Kevin Colbert, right? What I ain’t know was Kevin Colbert was an assassin, OK? He don’t like them either," Harrison said. "So they just sent two people down there that don’t like nobody. We ain’t about to get [crap] done. OK. I ain’t know it, though. I thought they sent me with somebody that was gonna help me win something, right?"
As the legend of 'Assassin' Colbert was born, Harrison's motto for hitting safely was quickly evaporated.
"So we get down there and he’s trying to play like he’s (Goodell) King (Crap)," Harrison said. "He ain’t saying nothing, they’re doing all the questioning. So I’m gassing, whatever, Colbert gassing, whatever. so finally he starts talking and I’m like ‘So listen, you’re telling me if I go to tackle a guy, and I dive at his ankles and at the last second he drops his head at his ankles and I hit him helmet to helmet, that’s on me?’ Yes, you will be fined. I said, OK, so you’re telling me I can’t win. I’ma do what I do, you do what you do."
Harrison's departure from Pittsburgh wasn't the cleanest, but moments like this have left him with a positive relationship with the organization. After 13 and a half years with the Steelers, the linebacker says he's everything is good between he and the team, and he even misses being in the locker room with his former teammates.
"I had great experiences in Pittsburgh," he said. "I still like the Steelers, i like the Rooneys, I like the Steelers. I even had heart to heart talks with Art about the situation and everything else and I’ma keep those conversations between him and me about what was going on with ourselves. But I’m thankful for everything that they done for me. I’m even thankful for Mike T, the things that he’s done for me. but at the same point in time, we had our little differences on that and that, but that’s not something that’s going to terminate my relationship with Pittsburgh or the Steelers, you know what I’m saying? All in all it’s thumbs up, great time, like I said, the only thing that I probably really miss is the locker room, man, you know kicking it with the guys."
