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@nflcommish ain't no fun when the rabbit got the gun huh?
— James Harrison (@jharrison9292) September 10, 2014
From the vantage point of ex-Steelers OLB James Harrison, he has to have at least a smirk on his face due to the massive amount of scrutiny NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is now under from the public, the league and even the U.S. Congress.
It's clear where Harrison is coming from; having largely been made a scapegoat in the league's about-face during the 2010 season on safety issues and helmet-to-helmet hits. But it just seems out of place now.
Harrison was properly given the chance to ceremoniously retire as a Steeler with a press conference last week, and that was the right thing for the team to do. But celebrating the failure of Roger Goodell in this case with a general comparison of his past to how the embattled commissioner appears to have royally screwed up the suspension of ex-Ravens running back Ray Rice isn't right.
It's a funny Tweet, and one that's drawing a huge amount of attention (26,000 re-tweets at the time of publication). Goodell's actions in this case show, at best for him, a shocking amount of disregard and negligence for his position. But there are much more tragic and painful undertones here. The subject of domestic violence being treated as something the NFL doesn't want to know about and approaching the matter as if Rice should have been eventually exonerated, based on the statements made by Goodell, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and PR Director Kevin Byrne, is equally disturbing and real.
Harrison certainly has the right to his opinion, but perhaps this isn't the best time to publicly celebrate Goodell's anticipated demise.
That said, pointing out the Steelers were the only team to vote against the current CBA, specifically because of the power it gave the NFL commissioner, is a fair message, and it's one people should remember. Not to say the 2011 Steelers players or the NFLPA could have predicted this specific course of events, but it all centers around the idea the commissioner had the ability to suspend without proper evidence, and use the act of suspension as his own resource of personal use.
It's extremely difficult, in wake of the news that continues to come out on the matter, to believe Goodell did anything else but that in this situation.