Last week, Pittsburgh Steelers legend Joey Porter Sr. darted Ben Roethlisberger and James Harrison, but Harrison could not sit on the sidelines very long.
In a new podcast on Monday, Harrison responded to Porter’s critical comments, which called Harrison’s allegiance to the franchise into question.
“You think the head coach didn’t have his hand in making that player? So when you say he did nothing for you, that’s crazy,” Porter said of Harrison. “Then it’s like, damn, why would you take a shot at the guy who changed your life? Because [Bill] Cowher didn’t change your life. Cowher cut you three times.”
Harrison and Roethlisberger have openly discussed the inner workings of the Steelers and were not afraid to go after Mike Tomlin, who Porter has been an outspoken supporter of for years despite the maelstrom of criticism he received before stepping down in January.
Harrison countered points made by Porter, including his criticism of Roethlisberger.
“He said I should be more loyal to (Mike Tomlin) because my name is Deebo. I had three, four Pro Bowls, Defensive Player of the Year, so when you say these things, it implies he gave me it. First, he didn’t give me the name Deebo, Brett Keisel did that,” Harrison on Deebo and Joe. “He didn’t make me the only undrafted player to ever win Defensive Player of the Year and $50 million. Again, implying it was given to me undeservingly. It wasn’t.”
Porter and Harrison spoke privately at length before the episode of Cam Heyward’s podcast when Porter came at Harrison. Harrison says the calls got somewhat explosive, with him hanging up on Porter.
Harrison says by going public with his issues towards Roethlisberger and himself, Porter broke the brotherhood more than they ever did.
“Something else he said, Ben and I broke the brotherhood? First, Mike (Tomlin) ain’t my brother. We broke the brotherhood? You broke the brotherhood more than we did.”
Harrison ended his tirade by stating he and Roethlisberger were great teammates, so he never had a problem with the Steelers quarterback. Porter said Roethlisberger was not a good person, even though he has love for the quarterback.
“Peezy, that was just a pure-out attack on Ben’s character, and what I said about Mike (Tomlin) was an attack on his coaching, dude,” Harrison said. “Two different things. And that’s more breaking the brotherhood than what Ben said. Ben said, ‘I think, I feel that maybe Tomlin should move on.’ Like, come on, bruh. … He went on it because he obviously has a personal issue with Ben that hasn’t been resolved.”
Roethlisberger could be the next one to respond to Porter’s critical comments after a week of his former teammates speaking up.