SteelerGate?
 

James Harrison: Mike Tomlin gave me envelope after 2010 hit:

Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison recently said that coach Mike Tomlin gave him an envelope following a 2010 game against the Browns that featured a big hit on wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.

"The G-est thing Mike Tomlin ever did, he handed me an envelope after that," Harrison said on Barstool's "Going Deep" podcast. "I'm not going to say what, but he handed me an envelope after that."

Harrison initially was fined $75,000 for the hit, which resulted in a concussion for Massaquoi. The fine was later reduced to $50,000, and no flag was called on the play.

The Steelers denied Harrison's claim Thursday.

"I am very certain nothing like this ever happened," Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. "I have no idea why James would make a comment like this but there is simply no basis for believing anything like this."

Re: SteelerGate?
 

Mmmmm, Sounds to me like Mr. Rooney can't accept the story that one of his star players was given a gift from the HC for a play that injured a player. Of course he is going to say it didn't happen, but for Mr. Harrison to say this is, sounds to me like the Up Standard Steelers would never stoop this low for a 'Behind the scenes" payday. I wont say it did or didn't happen, BUT, im sure things like this go on for some players and coaches on all teams.

Re: SteelerGate?
 

Anyone else notice that this situation was swept under the rug?

Re: SteelerGate?
 

What situation?



*Walk away, now... That's it... Slowly now. Get in the trunk; we're going for a ride*


There's no situation here.

Re: SteelerGate?
 

Tomlin must have read Gregg Williams coaching handbook.

Re: SteelerGate?
 

I'm of the belief that most, or all, teams did the bounty system until the Saints got hammered by the NFL and that was Goodell's plan the whole time. Make an example of the Saints (a small market team) and scare the other teams into compliance.

What they did to the Saints was so over the top disgraceful. It took many years for the Saints to recover.

That's when my love for the NFL began to wane and I detest Goodell because of it.

Re: SteelerGate?
 

No team had bounty systems, or at least what Goodell claimed was a bounty system. Every defensive squad had some sort of player funded performance pool that rewarded big hits and big plays. Many high school and college teams did the same, except instead of being awarded collected cash, they receive helmet stickers. Compliance wasn't an issue because there was no rule prohibiting it. In fact, in the pre-concussion suit era and pre-Goodell, the league openly supported it as a fun part of the game. It was treated the same as baseball's kangaroo courts.

Re: SteelerGate?
 

Interesting Reading

https://www.nfl.com/news/bounty-syst...000d5d827678cd


'Bounty' system probe is well-worn territory for NFL - NFL.com

1985 Chicago Bears. Commissioner Pete Rozelle fined Bears linebacker Wilber Marshall $2,000 after Marshall leveled Detroit Lions quarterback Joe Ferguson in Chicago's last regular-season game. ...
1989 Philadelphia Eagles. ...
2007 Green Bay Packers. ...
2008 Baltimore Ravens.

Re: SteelerGate?
 

I remember the article. Note the term "bounty" was mentioned in quote's while the article also noted that the Packers had an "incentive pool" which is exactly what the Saints and most likely all others had. It also pointed out "that money routinely changes hands among players for great plays and big hits, which is against NFL rules."

This is where the article was wrong. There were no rules against player funded pools of this sort. It wasn't long after this article that the league (ie. Goodell) began changing their tune and jumping on the "bounty" reference from the media. They ate up the heretofore unsubstantiated claims that there were rewards for injury and ran with it.

Yes, this was probably among the 1000 or more articles I read about this subject. Probably far more, come to think of it.

Re: SteelerGate?
 

Yeah, remember the segment called "Jacked Up". Nothing but clips of big hits in games. Fun watching them pretend like that was never a thing.