PITTSBURGH -- Three things James Harrison loves: lifting weights, sacking quarterbacks and needling the NFL.
The latest news will give Harrison ammunition for that third item.
The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker reportedly was one of nearly three-dozen players who attended the Pro Football Arm Wrestling Championship in Las Vegas' MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. NFL executive vice president for communications/public affairs Joe Lockhart told USA Today "no one sought pre-approval" for what would have been outlined as a violation of league gambling policy. As ESPN's David Purdum points out, the league prohibits players from making public appearances at casinos or gambling-related establishments.
Predicting how this plays out is a difficult task. Last month, the league approved the Raiders to relocate to Las Vegas as early as 2019. That decision isn't mutually exclusive to the arm-wrestling event, but there's an unavoidable connection for fans and media to make here. Harrison posted several social media pictures of himself at the event, which seems innocuous in nature and was hardly secretive, as evidenced by the sheer volume of pro athletes involved.
But by players failing to seek permission, a league probe seems likely. And the last time Harrison received an interview request from the league -- last summer over the Al Jazeera America report linking him to performance-enhancing drugs -- he called Goodell "that crook" who can"do whatever he wants" following a 2016 preseason game. This was far from the first time Harrison had sparred with the league.
That probe was more personal for Harrison, who was cleared by the NFL before the regular season but clearly felt the league had no right to force interviews over a report debunked by the story's primary source.
But the latest incident pits the two against each other one more time if the NFL wants to take it that far. Though it's tough to imagine players getting more than fines over this -- the Rob Gronkowski boat-cruise situation went nowhere -- Harrison probably feels he can't go more than a few months without encountering the suits in New York. Harrison often points out on social media how frequently the league drug-tests him.
Harrison, 38, just signed a two-year extension with Pittsburgh, so let the fun continue.