Steelers linebacker James Harrison went to New York on Tuesday and met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the league’s enforcement of illegal hits.
The meeting comes two weeks after Harrison was fined $75,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. Harrison briefly threatened to retire because he said he didn’t think he could play football now that the league is more strictly enforcing illegal hits.
Harrison is appealing that fine, but the meeting with Goodell was not part of the appeals process. Instead, this meeting was, in the words of Harrison’s agent Bill Parise, “an exchange of ideas and an opportunity for both sides to learn and grow.”
In an indication that the learning and growing didn’t make Harrison completely satisfied with Goodell, Parise added, “These types of meeting should have taken place before [Harrison was] fined $75,000.”
Harrison is expected to be fined again this week after he was flagged for a late hit Sunday on Saints quarterback Drew Brees.