Matthews and Peppers are key players for Green Bay’s defense, and Neal is now a free agent who spent the past six seasons with the Packers.
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Just last month, Harrison mentioned the Steelers’ refusal to endorse the CBA in response to the news that Tom Brady’s four-game suspension had become final.
In a letter that was written to the NFLPA on Monday, and obtained by CBSSports.com, the league announced that each player will be suspended if they don’t cooperate with the NFL’s investigation into allegations that all four players received performance-enhancing drugs (PED) from the Guyer Institute in Indiana.
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker James Harrison doesn’t want to face a suspension.
Clay Matthews during a game against Arizona.
For now, Harrison will continue to listen to his NFL Players Association lawyers who have advised him not to agree to an interview with the league, which is still trying to investigate an eight-month old report by a now-defunct television network. “I’m not going to answer questions for every little thing that some Tom, Dick or Harry comes up with”. “If that’s the case, somebody can come out and say that James Harrison is a pedophile”. “They’re going to suspend me and put me under investigation just because somebody said it?”
Or Harrison can refuse to be interviewed and be suspended indefinitely. Failing to do so, their indefinite suspension will begin from August 26.
Back in June, the National Football League had said that it planned to interview each player on the first day of training camp, something that still hasn’t happened even though most teams are now three weeks into camp. He extended his invitation again on Tuesday.
For instance, Harrison said the interview had to be done at his house on the date of his choosing, and Roger Goodell would have to attend. “Bring Roger with you”.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that he isn’t advising Harrison, though Harrison concedes that the team could factor into his decision.
This has nothing to do with us, Tomlin said. There can be no question that the league has a good faith basis for conducting this investigation; moreover, the league and NFLPA have a shared interest in ensuring that our jointly developed policy is not being violated. “That’s between him, the (players association) and the league, and I assume he is going to do what he needs to do”.
Harrison, a 14-year veteran, is a longtime leader of the Steelers. Matthews and Peppers are key players for Green Bay’s defense, and Neal is now a free agent who spent the past six seasons with the Packers.
The Packers did have an open locker room period this afternoon but Matthews and Peppers were not made available.
Packers General Manager Ted Thompson is not making contingency plans in case two of his best defensive players are suspended by the NFL.
Everybody in the worlds going to be talking about it, but Im not going to have anything to say about it, the Packers will not have anything to say about it until it gets resolved, Thompson said. “I don’t want to let the organization down”.
The initial report came out in late December, with undercover work attempting to expose performance-enhancing drug use by several prominent athletes, many of them in the NFL. The report was largely based on Charlie Sly’s testimony, which he recanted later. Tennessee has lost two tackles to injuries since the offseason program started, and Kelly gives them depth at that position behind left tackle Taylor Lewan and rookie right tackle Jack Conklin. “They’ll do what they have to do”, Harrison said.
Per the league: “The suspension for each such player will begin on Friday, August 26 and will continue until he has fully participated in an interview with league investigators, after which the Commissioner will determine whether and when the suspension should be lifted”.
“We can not accept your unilateral assertion that the cursory, untested statements you have submitted satisfy the players’ obligation”, Birch wrote.
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“I’ll have to deal with that when the time comes”, Harrison said.
