James Harrison Threatened with Positive Result for Filming Drug Test

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker and weightlift-aholic James Harrison has always coveted transparency when it comes to the NFL’s rigorous drug testing policies. As one of the largest yet oldest players in his position group, it’s understandable that Harrison would get tested a little more frequently than most. But this time, the league’s stringent application of the rules has caught him off-guard.

Harrison posted an Instagram video stating, “I was told I can’t record [the random drug test], and that if I did try to record it, they wouldn’t test me, and that would count as a positive [test]. So right now, we’re waiting to see what can be done.”

The punishment he would have faced for stickybeaking again this time would have been less a case of “blackmail” and more a “literal interpretation of the rules.” Under the current system, the NFL counts a failure to test as an automatic positive, which was reportedly what undid Harrison’s teammate Martavis Bryant, who is preparing to serve a season-long suspension for marijuana use.

To the layman, the issue shouldn’t be a matter of “what can be done.” If the NFL explicitly states that a player can’t film the process of a test, then that should be the end of the discussion. But Deebo is a proud, occasionally stubborn man, and he is likely frustrated at the new rules being dumped on him.

Harrison later explained he took the test without taping it because he didn’t want to get the tester fired, which was apparently the fate of the previous man who let Harrison film the test. Earlier this offseason, Harrison gave his fans a lighthearted look into how the whole procedure goes down, as a tester stood awkwardly but cheerfully nearby.

Deebo loves to post on social media, so anyone interested in learning how this dispute gets resolved would best look towards his Instagram account for answers.