NFL finds domestic violence difficult to gauge
Dropped charges, few NFL penalties
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
James Harrison is one of a number of NFL players who have been involved in domestic violence incidents in the past several years, though it appears that few have received penalties from the league because charges have been dismissed in many of the cases.
Harrison, a Pro Bowl linebacker with the Steelers, was arrested and charged with simple assault and criminal mischief Saturday after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, Beth Tibbott, at her Ohio Township residence. His preliminary hearing has been rescheduled for April 3.
An NFL spokesman said yesterday the league does not provide the number of domestic violence cases against players, partly because many of the cases are "ultimately dismissed."
A most recent example occurred yesterday when a woman who had a restraining order in a domestic-violence case against New England Patriots receiver Randy Moss had the charges dropped.
Last year, former Cleveland Browns running back Reuben Droughns had domestic violence charges against him dropped when prosecutors cited a lack of evidence.
The Steelers saw a similar situation two years ago when receiver Santonio Holmes, their No. 1 draft pick at the time, had charges of domestic violence and assault against him dropped by a municipal court judge in Columbus, Ohio.
Still, there have been cases where players have been punished by the league for incidents involving domestic violence.
The most serious case occurred in 2004 when Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michel Pittman was suspended for three games by the NFL after an incident in which he was charged with ramming his Hummer into a car driven by his wife and carrying his 2-year-old child and baby sitter.
Since then, seven players have received one-game suspensions by the league for domestic violence, according to various news reports.
According to a police affidavit, Harrison broke down a bedroom door while his girlfriend was trying to call 911, took her cell phone and broke it in half. Tibbott also said Harrison, who is 5 feet 11, 245 pounds, hit her with an open hand in the face, knocking off her glasses.
Harrison was working out at the Steelers South Side facility yesterday but was unavailable for comment.
Under Pennsylvania law, simple assault is considered a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison. Criminal mischief can be considered a felony in the third degree with a maximum prison term of seven years if the damage caused in the incident is in excess of $5,000.
According to a league spokesman, each of the NFL's 32 teams conducts a life-skills session each fall.
Last year, commissioner Roger Goodell instituted a Conduct Management Program for all incoming rookies, requiring them to attend eight one-hour sessions that incorporate video, lectures and discussions designed to teach players how to cope with life in the NFL. The sessions are run by an outside instructor approved by the league and coordinated with each team's player-development director.
Harrison was in his first year as a starter with the Steelers after rising from obscurity as a free agent from Kent State University who was cut three times in his career, twice by the Steelers.
Last fall, Harrison acknowledged that his road to the NFL was not always smooth, in part because of indiscretions as a teenager growing up in Akron, Ohio.
Harrison attended three high schools in Akron. He said he had scholarship offers to Nebraska and Notre Dame rebuffed because he "messed some things up" his senior year at Coventry High School. One of those incidents involved being suspended for two games because he shot a BB gun in the locker room and got off with a fine, avoiding a sentence of six months in prison for felonious assault.
Coventry principal John Hibian, who was the school's athletic director when Harrison played there, said his former student did "stupid little things" that caused Hibian to think Harrison might jeopardize his future in football.
But, after seeing Harrison develop in the NFL and the way he handles himself when he returns to Coventry, Hibian said he saw a change in the Steelers linebacker.
"There is a different air about him when he comes back now," Hibian said. "Ultimately, he has become a mature young man."
