Home 2014 Season Harrison Move is Further Proof That the “Steeler Way” Doesn’t Exist

Harrison Move is Further Proof That the “Steeler Way” Doesn’t Exist

by Steeldad

It seems every year I have to take the time to write about the “Steeler Way” and how it just isn’t what many believe it once was or if it ever existed at all. There are numerous ways to define the Steeler Way and some of them discuss how players give back and stay active in the Pittsburgh community long after their playing days are over and I can’t argue that part one bit.

Others will talk about how it relates to the way the organization does things in terms of patience with coaches and draft picks and that’s also hard to argue but there is another side to this too.

The method in which the Steeler Way is most often defined is when it comes to dealing with players who do things wrong off the field. It is with this thought in mind that the organization has not always followed its’ own principles and ideals.

Let us go back to March of 2008 when Steelers’ wide receiver Cedrick Wilson was charged with assaulting his former girlfriend in a bar. He was cut from the team almost immediately yet James Harrison was charged with assaulting his girlfriend in her home less than two weeks prior.

Harrison was never cut.

With all of the spotlight on domestic violence in the National Football League in 2014, you’d think the Steelers would be a little more cautious about bringing Harrison back. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote earlier that the Steelers spoke with Harrison prior to bringing him out of retirement about the climate in the NFL. Mike Tomlin was pleased with what he heard and aboard came Harrison.

So what exactly is the “Steeler Way” when it comes to domestic violence? Apparently it’s no different than any other team in the NFL. It’s about winning and for players that help achieve that goal better than others it’s a chance to keep playing while the Cedrick Wilson’s of the world are released.

When asked why one player was kept and one was released in 2008, you might recall Steelers’ Chairman Dan Rooney saying;

“I know many are asking the question of [why] we released Wilson and Harrison we kept,” Rooney said. “The circumstances — I know of the incidents, they are completely different. In fact, when I say we don’t condone these things, we don’t, but we do have to look at the circumstances that are involved with other players and things like that, so they’re not all the same.”

“What Jimmy Harrison was doing and how the incident occurred, what he was trying to do was really well worth it,” Rooney said of Harrison’s initial intent with his son. “He was doing something that was good, wanted to take his son to get baptized where he lived and things like that. She said she didn’t want to do it.”

“It was really well worth it?” Hitting a woman when trying to get a child baptized is apparently OK? That’s news to me. Usually such a decision is made by both parents and not just one isn’t it?

This issue is but a mere example of how the Steeler Way doesn’t exist. In the preseason Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount were cited for marijuana use. We can debate the legalities of that later but I think we all would admit there are much better places to do this activity than in a car on a busy street.

If the Steeler Way existed, wouldn’t they have been punished? I suppose they were when they were forced to play longer than normal in a meaningless preseason game but is that really punishment as it normally is defined in the NFL?

I admit however that I’m no different than most fans. I cheered for Bell and Blount Sunday night just like you did and when Harrison makes a splash play I’ll cheer that too. The way I see it is that if my team’s ownership is OK with these guys then why shouldn’t I?

After all, that seems to be the real “Steeler Way.”

Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteelDad and the website @SCBlitz. Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/steelcityblitz and on Fancred.com. You can hear him weekly during the season on Trib-Live Radio Steelers Pre-Game

photo courtesy steelers.com

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11 comments

steelbydesign September 24, 2014 - 5:32 pm

“I can’t be writing what the rules are because my rules vary from player to player. It’s like I told Lawrence: In Dallas we had a linebacker named John Roper who got cut for falling asleep in a meeting. If Troy Aikman fell asleep in a meeting, I’d go over and whisper, `Wake up, Troy.’ ”

-Jimmy Johnson

steeldad September 24, 2014 - 6:37 pm

Agree 100% with JJ. My point in the article is that fans often don’t want to admit that their team can be morally corrupt. All teams are because it’s a business plain and simple.

steelbydesign September 25, 2014 - 11:32 am

Yep.

For that reason I also think the media tends to rag on the Steelers worse when stuff like that happens. It seems like they’re held to a higher standard. There’s obviously common sense and case by case decisions to be made but I’d rather see a good team than one full of choir boys.

steeldad September 26, 2014 - 1:27 am

Great teams always have a few guys who mix things up. I just want fans to realize the Steelers aren’t any different in that regard.

Chris Hills September 25, 2014 - 2:32 pm

The steelers are held to higher account as they have generally been more tolerant of individuals and treat each situation differently. However, they get scolded for having different punishment for seemingly the same offense. Most people who whine about that obviously don’t run a business and football is just a business. It is illegal to share many of the disciplinary issues of employees and thus you never really know whether offenses are equal and or there is past history. Additionally, for any of you fans that have been around as long as me (started watching my hometown team in ’69), the stars of the 70’s were regularly in serious trouble. Greater deference has always been given to those that are stars and screw up. However, there are also many examples over the last five decades of stars (running backs, etc.) that went to far and were cut. Ultimately, there is nothing mythical about it. The steelers are a business run by good men who want what is best for both their employees and their business.

steeldad September 26, 2014 - 1:26 am

You make very good points Chris and thanks for commenting. I agree that the Rooneys are genuinely good people but you hit on the key part that many Steelers fans won’t admit; this is a business and in business you don’t treat everyone the same. Therefore, the organization is no different than any of the other 31 in almost every respect.

Scott September 26, 2014 - 12:56 am

Please be careful when you walk on water. If it gets deep I’m afraid you will drown sir. God Bless

steeldad September 26, 2014 - 1:23 am

Who’s walking on water? What did I write that wasn’t true?

Zarbor September 27, 2014 - 4:11 pm

What a dumb article. You are questioning the Steelers Way about an incident that happen six to seven years ago. To talk about the Steelers way back then would be fine, to try to make that connection because the team brought him back in 2014 is just stupid. Wake me up when you find something of value to write about. I don’t know Harrison like Tomlin, the players and the Rooneys. Its been years people give it a rest.

“But, knowing James over those seven to eight years, he has grown a lot, as has his lady. ” Tomlin

steeldad September 27, 2014 - 10:58 pm

I’m not questioning the Steeler Way I’m telling you it doesn’t exist. Fans like you think the Rooneys are infallible. They are businessmen period.

» Watch Tower: James Harrison’s Return, “Steelers Way,” Goodell, and More October 16, 2014 - 1:15 am

[…] the exception of Steeler Dad on Steel City Blitz, who used the occasion to argue that there is no such thing as “The Steelers Way.” In a […]

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