On second thought, Steelers linebacker James Harrison wishes he hadn’t called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell the “devil” and a “crook.”
“The interview that I did and the comments that I made about Roger Goodell were inappropriate, at the least,” Harrison said today at Steelers camp, via James Walker of ESPN.com. “They were way out of line, and I was speaking out of anger and frustration at the time. Any comments that I made that offended anyone, I apologize.”
Both Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Steelers president Art Rooney II told Harrison they thought his comments crossed the line, and after thinking about it, Harrison decided that they were right.
Or at least, he decided that he should apologize for appearances’ sake, even if he still hates Goodell.
As for the other controversial comments Harrison made in his Men’s Journal interview, including ripping teammates Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall, Harrison said the people in his locker room know what kind of person he is and weren’t bothered by what he said.
“That’s all behind us,” he said Friday. “Those comments [toward teammates] were taken out of context with a long conversation. It’s not anything I haven’t talked to those guys about or my teammates about.”
There’s no word on whether Harrison will be getting a call from Goodell’s office about the matter, but Harrison seems to think it’s time to move on.
