Mike Florio of PFT loves to report rumors as facts. It's about as professional as a doctor performing surgery on a patient without anesthetic. With the the recent shooting investigation outside a bar owned by Marvin Harrison, I knew it was only a matter of time before Florio brought up two other incidents that (just like the "Bill Polian beats up Jets employees" rumor) were complete and utter falsities. However, typical Florio, he paints them as events that did happen, despite no actual proof that they did.
If Mike Florio ever becomes a judge folks, run for the hills.
Florio reports on two incidents, none of which resulted in charges, suspension, fines, or even proof they even happened, aside from "unnamed sources," which essentially means nothing:
Granted, the five-year-old incident involving Harrison is a far cry from a shooting. But it’s further evidence that maybe Marvin isn’t the great guy that we’ve been led to believe he is.
In 2003, Harrison allegedly knocked a Jets’ ball boy to the ground because Jets punter Matt Turk was kicking balls in the direction of Harrison and quarterback Peyton Manning prior to a game.
Three years ago, Harrison was sued for "violently and physically attack[ing]" three boys who were seeking his autograph a day before the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.
Harrison allegedly put one of the boys in a choke hold.
There were never any further reports about the lawsuit, which suggests to us that it was quietly settled for a confidential payment.
Let's be clear on something here: A man is innocent until guilt is proven. If guilt is not proven, the man didn't do it, especially if the event involved an attack. It is that simple. Ironic that Florio, a LAWYER by trade, has a hard time grasping this very simple, very universal fact of our society. From what I remember (and there are no links to support this) but the autograph, choke-hold, whatever lawsuit was dismissed for lack of evidence, not settled quietly out of court. And since when do the Jets count as a reliable source? They were the ones who said Bill Polian attacked a Jets employee back in 2006, and that turned out to not be true.
So, because of these other incidents Florio has referenced (none of which proven true with actual evidence), I've decided to make a resolution: If nothing results from this Marvin Harrison investigate, I will no longer read PFT.
The one thing I cannot stand is when rumor mongering condemns someone in the eyes of the public before that person has been condemned in a court of law. This is what PFT has lived on for years, and he is using this police investigation to pad his hit count, nothing more. Yes, he is within his rights to do this. However, I am within my rights to call him a skeezy, sleazeoid lawyer looking for a quick buck.
So, until Marvin Harrison is charged, this is a dead story. Until he is proven guilty in court, this is a dead story. If Marvin had been Pacman Jones or Tank Johnson, I could somewhat understand the witch hunt. Those guys have a long history of repeated events that call into question their character. Tank Johnson did actual jail time. Harrison doesn't have these kinds of repeated events listed, no matter how hard Mike Florio tries to paint it as such.
If there is one thing positive to take from Buzz Bissinger's angry rant about blogs, it's that when it comes to fact and rumor, we bloggers should not confuse the two. Yes, we can report rumors and even make fun of them, especially when they involve Matt Leinart in a pool sharing beer with underage drinkers. But in this case, using rumor to assassinate someone's character is just plain wrong. It's as wrong a pushing a ball boy, pushing a kid for an autograph, or "making it rain."
The irony is Florio is seemingly just as dirty and sleaze ridden as the rotten players he seems to take joy in exposing. Typical in Florio's lawyer profession, it looks like Mike is chasing an ambulance here. If nothing results from this Harrison investigation, I would like to see that ambulance run Florio over a few times.