NFLPA decides to hold its own rookie symposium in June

At last week's spring owners meeting, the NFL cancelled its annual rookie symposium, which is in place to educate draft picks on the life that lies ahead as a professional athlete.

It appears the practice won't be lost all together.

The NFL Players Association is finalizing plans for a June 28-29 rookie symposium of its own, which it is calling "The Business of Football, Rookie Edition," scheduled for near its Washington, D.C. headquarters. As is the case with the annual event -- traditionally a joint venture between the league and the NFLPA -- all draft picks would be invited, and the classroom schedule will follow the normal agenda closely, right down to taking place during the last few days of June. The NFLPA said it will cover all costs.

Because of the lockout, the 254 draft picks can't communicate with the teams that selected them in April.

The NFL's contingency for replacing the symposium was to expand and extend normal orientation programs held at the club level.

"We're doing this because it's the right thing to do," NFLPA spokesman George Atallah told The Associated Press.

The forum will cover financial education and planning, proper behavior on and off the field, and other information to prepare rookies for the NFL.

The league had planned to have this year's symposium at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, for the first time in an effort to better educate players on the history of the game. It was scheduled for June 27-29.

At the owners' meetings in Indianapolis last week, NFL vice president Adolpho Birch said the league "waited as long as we could" before canceling the event. He called the rookie symposium "an extremely complex event that requires a lot of people -- from all of the drafted players to the panelists and presenters, production people and the youth camp that is associated with it. It is really a large production.

"We got to the point, based on the uncertainty we have right now, that we needed to be fair to those who would be asked to come and participate and help us put it on. Given that, we had to make a decision. This was about as late as we could do it."

Birch said it would be up to the individual teams to help indoctrinate the rookies to the NFL, and that league-sponsored programs during the season would continue once the lockout ends. The lockout is in its 11th week.

Agent David Canter thinks the NFLPA's forum makes sense.

"I'm very happy that the former union made this decision," said Canter, who counts Syracuse linebacker Doug Hogue, a fifth-round pick of the Detroit Lions, among his clients. "The symposium is a great experience for all players. For this year's class, it's even more valuable because of the lack of information. And this will be the first time all of these players have been able to meet."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Steelers LB Harrison cools off, decides against retirement

That retirement talk by James Harrison didn't last nearly long enough for some NFL quarterbacks.

The three-time Pro Bowl linebacker resumed practicing with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, one day after he threatened to retire because of the NFL's stricter punishment of players for dangerous hits.

Harrison was one of three players fined a total of $175,000 by the NFL on Tuesday for flagrant hits last weekend -- he was docked $75,000 for a helmet-hit on Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi -- and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday followed up the fines by releasing a memo emphasizing significant penalties will be imposed upon players who strike an opponent in the head or neck in violation of existing rules.

La Canfora: NFL can't be senseless

Harrison, arguing the restrictions won't allow him to play football as he has always played it, met with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on Wednesday to discuss the changes. Tomlin decided to give Harrison a cooling-off day and sent him home from practice.

Harrison's teammates didn't take his threat to retire seriously, saying he enjoys playing too much to quit during the second season of a six-year, $51.2 million contract. Harrison agreed with that in a statement issued Thursday by the Steelers.

"I have come to the decision that I cannot and will not let the league office stop me from playing the game that I love," Harrison said.

Harrison didn't talk to reporters before or after practice. The team said the statement would be Harrison's only comments.

"I will continue to play the game with the same passion, intensity and focus with which I have always played and let the chips fall where they may," Harrison said. "I have never given up, quit or walked away from anything in my life, and I am not about to start now."

Too bad for the New England Patriots' Tom Brady, who joked that life for NFL quarterbacks would be easier if Harrison retired.

Steelers safety Ryan Clark also found some levity in the situation. Asked about the notoriously intense Harrison's mood upon returning to the team, Clark said the linebacker isn't "a fluffy person" even when he's in a good mood.

"He's fine," Clark said. "Obviously, it's a tough situation, and he was able to handle it the way he needed to. We're glad to have him back."

In his statement, Harrison said player safety must be emphasized, but he argued again that his hit on Massaquoi was permissible under NFL rules. Tomlin also said the hit was legal.

"I feel the real reason for the fine was the statement I made after the game wherein I said that I try to hurt people, not injure them," Harrison said in the statement. "In the same sentence, I attempted to clarify my meaning. But I understand that my comments leave a lot open to interpretation. The statement was not well-thought out, and I did not adequately convey my meaning. I apologize for making that statement, and I want it to be known that I have never and would never intentionally try to injure any player."

Browns center Alex Mack suggested that Harrison should be worried about his own health. Mack said Harrison's concussion-causing hits Sunday on Browns wide receivers Massaquoi and Joshua Cribbs weren't isolated.

"If you watch the game film, he was doing that to everyone on every play. People would be on the ground, and he would try to spear them," Mack said. "There's a play on film where (running back) Peyton Hillis is tackled, and he (Harrison) comes up and spears him. It's like you're being cheap, you're being dirty."

Dirty, he said, and dangerous.

"You're ruining your own brain, and you're damaging other people," Mack said. "It's your brain. You need that a lot."

Neither Massaquoi nor Cribbs was able to practice Wednesday or Thursday. Browns coach Eric Mangini said both players could be medically cleared for practice Friday.

Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke insisted Harrison, who was the 2008 Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year, isn't a dirty player who lives off cheap hits.

"That's not James -- that's a misunderstanding," Hoke said. "He goes out and plays hard. There's not a dirty ounce in his body. ... It's all about hard work for him. He's one of the first guys in here in the morning and one of the last to leave. He's a class act. It's good to see him back, because he's a humongous part of our team."

Although Harrison's one-day absence was the predominant topic in the Steelers' locker room, defensive end Aaron Smith said it wasn't a distraction. Many veteran Steelers players routinely take days off from practice during the season; the only difference was Harrison didn't watch from the sideline or attend meetings.

Smith also said Harrison's situation won't be a distraction Sunday.

"When you go out there on Sunday, all you think about is the football game," Smith said. "You don't think about anything else."

And the Steelers will play ... uh, the Miami Dolphins, right? With so much talk about Harrison, Steelers players are being asked relatively few questions about their opponents.

"Is that who we're playing?" Smith said, only kidding.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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