Dear Player's Union, James Harrison Is One Of Your Own!

James Harrison is getting an overwhelming amount of play for his recent vitriolic harangue aimed directly at Roger Goodell and his own teammates in the August addition of Men's Journal. In light of some of his previous quotes, this latest diatribe comes as no surprise to me. My overall take on him is that he is a narcissist who doesn't care about the fans, his teammates, or anyone else for that matter. While the extreme harshness of his opinions may not represent the majority of the NFL players, I would like to submit to you that the highest paid players have one thing in common with Harrison. After the jump, I will tell you what that one thing is.

Simply put, they don't care about you, the fans. Keep in mind, I'm speaking of the most well paid players, many of whom have been grandstanding their way around New York and Minneapolis as if they own the very teams they play for. The underpaid and less appreciated players are much more likely to respect and value the fact that we, the fans, and the owners that employee them are the main reason their "job" exists. Let me explain where I'm going with this. From the outset of the lockout, the media has crushed the owners for opting out of the current labor agreement. Keep in mind, the media must support the player's union, or else forfeit their worthiness to interview any NFL player in the future. Quid pro quo is a necessary evil in the world of journalism and we should only expect as much. As an opinionated, non-biased pseudo journalist, allow me to tip the scales in the direction of the owners for a few moments.

By no means am I about to absolve the owners of any part in this charade, but I will tell you why I favor their viewpoint with a bit more understanding. Let me put this in layman's terms. All of us have relatives, and so we find ourselves "relating" to them more than we would like to admit. In the same way, I've found myself scrutinizing the player representatives as one of my own. It's easier for me to compare myself to the players because I am an employee in many of the same ways that they are. I, too, can negotiate my position and salary based on individual performance and correlating company performance. I am totally in favor with negotiating for a fair market deal, but all things must be considered when doing so, including the current economy. Go ahead. Tell me that revenues are higher than they've ever been before and they're only projected to increase in the future. The key word in this assumption is "projected". The last time I checked, we are in a down economy and there are teams that can't keep their stadiums filled. I don't want to hear about new streams of revenue either because that all goes out the window with everything else if our government(all parties) makes another series of wrong turns or a player goes postal and decides to shoot up some locker room.

My message to the player representatives is this: Stop biting the hand that feeds you, and realize that you are alienating people like me who are employees in the same way you are. The owner/employer is the one who ultimately has the right to tell you what you are worth to his team at any given time. Why? Because it's his money, and you can't tell him how to spend it. The longer I see you guys standing in an immovable position, the more you look like some bare-chested, gun-toting narcissist, hell-bent on taking down himself and everyone with him. In the meantime, any leverage you may think you have is quickly being undermined by some of your teammates who refuse to properly represent your union. Enough is enough. Take the deal before you lose your teammates and the fans.

Isn't it ironic that the side that I relate with the most is the side that I sympathize with the least? Makes sense, doesn't it?