Ray Anderson, the NFL’s executive vice president for football operations (aka Watchdog) seems to think that the Steelers are nothing but wrong when it comes to players and fans thinking that the league is targeting the team, more so James Harrison.
“I would say that’s misguided and, frankly, completely untrue,” Anderson said when asked if the Steelers are being targeted. “Every team and every player, hopefully, will have the confidence that, if they play within the rules, we won’t have this problem.”
Harrison has already paid $125,000 to the league in fines this year, including another $25,000 from this past Sunday when he hit Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Bills.
“It angers me, of course, that they’re taking absurd amounts of money from me for plays that I consider to be clean and legal hits,” Harrison said. “I’m sure if you asked 10 guys in the league, nine of them would say he’s not a dirty player. He’s a hard player. He’s just getting a bad (reputation) right now.”
Anderson reiterated the league’s decree from earlier this season that those inflicting helmet-to-helmet or flagrant hits will be subject to suspension.
“The league doesn’t care about us anyway,” Hines Ward said. “They don’t care about the safety of the game. If the league was so concerned about the safety, why are you adding two more games on? You talk about you don’t want players to drink … and all you see is beer commercials. You don’t want us to gamble, but then there are (NFL-endorsed lottery scratch-off games).”
Asked about Ward’s charge, Anderson said, “I have no comment to Hines Ward.”
4 Comments
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Mike
December 2, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Really, I expected Ol Ray to tell the truth.
jay
December 2, 2010 at 5:43 pm
He’s a douche bag (anderson) and I think that, let’s just say for one moment that he’s right and there’s no conspiracy….NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WILL BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THE LEAGUE OFFICE RIGHT NOW ANYWAY!!!! I know I won’t, even if they are right….THEY have done this, not us! They have thrown the flags seemingly indiscriminately, not us! They have said it’s about player safety out one side of their mouth and out the other side have said that they want 18 games?!? Really?!? So, don’t, Mr. Anderson (voice inflection like that of the Matrix) act like it’s US who are preposterous with your thinly veiled quasi angry comments and your smug little attitude! We the fans (and the players) are the victims here, not YOU! I find it interesting that the NFL showcases size, speed, agility and strength in late february and March at the Combine and makes money off of player attributes that they turn around and fine them for during the season…Those same attributes of size, speed and strength, etc., are the same traits that are being ever so highly scrutinized by you hypocritical pricks in your mahogany desks with Central Park views whilst we sit back and watch one of our favorite things (football) become usurped by power, greed and megalomaniacs who, in, quite frankly, the most insulting of ways to us troglodytes, actually believe you’ve gotten one over on us!
jay
December 2, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Actually I got off on a tangent and my bigger point outside of berating the cocksuckers who administrate the NFL was that THEY, not us, have to fix it..So whether they’re right and on the up and up or are the deceitful, hypocritical scumbags that they act like, they are the one who have to pocket the yellow indefinitely, make apologies, refund fines, etc…THEY have to change the public’s overall persona of the NFL through action and recourse because I believe that quite frankly and as naive as this may sound, time will not cure this especially if it continues whether it be indefinitely to Steelers players or sort of migrates in an orbital type of fashion, to other teams….The NFL HAS to DO something to make this better if they want public opinion to not totally throw the league under the bus! People speak up about this!
mark
December 2, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Anderson is just one of GOD-dells minions!! I mean, how many people really believe him or the NFL offices when they say they are “on the level?” The ref’s are on the take, the commissioner acts like he is omnipotent and must “change the game” for the sake of all our souls and the players have to now alter the way they have been trained to play their entire lives. So lets see, the players suffer, the game suffers,the fans suffer, the integrity suffers. Who benefits? Oh yeah.. the wallets of the greedy and hypocritical NFL offices.