James Harrison returned to practice on Wednesday for the Steelers. With the way Pittsburgh played on the road in San Francisco Monday night, they need all the help they can get. Harrison spoke to reporters after practice and had a number of quick responses, most of which indicate he now has an “oh well” attitude when the league reprimands him. He did, however, say he thinks the Browns deserve to be punished for letting McCoy go back in after the big hit.
“My helmet hit his helmet, it is what it is,” Harrison said. “If he was hurt so bad I don’t know why they let him back in two plays later. Something should be done to them, I would think. I got a game, what should they get?
While Harrison has a point, you can’t compare his crime to their crime. He wasn’t suspended because he injured McCoy, but because the hit was illegal. The league didn’t have to see that McCoy suffered a concussion to suspend Harrison for yet another helmet-to-helmet hit.
That being said, Harrison isn’t the only one who believes the Browns should be punished in some way. McCoy’s father was furious the Cleveland coaches and trainers let his son back in the game and their decision completely undermines the league’s hazy policy on concussions. Harrison is wrong in thinking that the league should have given him a break, but he is right that the Browns should face some sort of penalty for putting McCoy’s health at risk.
