Wading Into This Marvin Harrison Mess
Guns, NFL, Shady McShady May 6th. 2008, 11:00am
The Philadelphia Daily News describes last week’s shooting in which Colts receiver Marvin Harrison has been questioned by police – for four hours – as puzzling.
Summary: A man – still unidentified, but we know he is convicted felon who was recently released from jail (per the video of Sal Pal after the jump) – goes to Marvin Harrison’s bar. A fistfight ensues. This man and Harrison “bicker” in the days following, but there’s no elaboration as to whether that was in the streets, on the internet, or at a ping pong tournament. About two weeks later, said man shows up at Harrison’s bar, and after Harrison escorts him outside, the man is shot in the hand, and another man was clipped in the shoulder. The shooter remains unidentified.
We now request a 10 second break while we put on, simultaneously, our detective, psychologist and fortune teller hats and attempt to form some thoughts on what the heck the bogglingly prolific wide receiver got himself into.
Perhaps the best reaction we’ve seen to Harrison’s situation is courtesy of Ashley Fox :
“Harrison is an enigma, always has been. Rarely does he let someone into his confidence. He doesn’t talk much to teammates, doesn’t do many interviews. During the season, Harrison lives in an apartment by himself near the Indianapolis airport. He is all business at the Colts’ training facility. He typically eats lunch in a media relations office. When Dungy ends practice, Harrison is the first one out the door. Same after games. He showers. He leaves. He picks up takeout for dinner and doesn’t socialize in Indianapolis. A lot of the time after home games, Harrison will take a late flight to Philadelphia. He is here a lot, here to see his son and his friends. He spends much of the off-season here and has tried to revitalize his old neighborhood.”
Onto our Q&A, chock full of febrile speculation:
Why haven’t the police released the name of the man who was shot?
Best guess – retaliation. Harrison’s probably protected in the neighborhood by everyone (including nefarious individuals?), and if the police released his name, he could get got (ahhhh, miss The Wire).
Why hasn’t the man told police who the shooter was?
See answer one. There aren’t going to be suspects until he talks. One might think that if a shooting took place at 5 pm, there might be witnesses … but we’re sure nobody saw anything.
Six shell casings from Harrison’s gun were found outside his bar. Was Harrison shooting to kill?
Outside of the fact that Harrison’s a lousy shot, we’ve read nothing leading us to believe the injured man fired any bullets. The gun? According to Sal Pal this morning: ” … [it's] a body-armor defeating handgun. It’s bullets could penetrate 48 layers of kevlar at 50 meters. This gun is designed to be a cop killer.”
Why would Marvin Harrison own a car wash and a bar in a seedy section of Philly?
To give back to his community and create jobs for people in his old hood? Sure. Or might it be a front of some sort? Nah, we’ve just probably seen too many TV shows.
70 Responses to “Wading Into This Marvin Harrison Mess”
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May 6th, 2008 at 11:03 am
as peter king pointed out yesterday in his MMQB, harrison is so private of a person, no one really knows anything about him. he’s so quiet people assume he is a good guy. but no one really knows anything about him. not even his teammates.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:07 am
i always liked marhar…still do, and that was one legit hand cannon he owned. hope nothing comes of it, but who the hell knows anything?
May 6th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I bet he’s a serial killer like on every episode of the shield.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Hef…have you seen the gun he owned? the bullets are designed to hit their target and then start tumbling end over end causing a 22mm hole from 50 meters. that’s some sick ass shit.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:13 am
the gun was very rare and they have matched the bullets and casings with his gun. this is a wierd story. i said this last week, but i’ll say it again. i saw a list of registered handgun owners in the major sports, and Marvin’s name was one that suprised me the most. But Jimmy is right, he’s quiet so we assume he’s a good guy.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I hear that once those bullets enter the body, they actually lay baby bullets. And when those bullets hatch, they destroy the body even more. That’s science.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I have no idea what to think other than, I’m glad I’m not a Colts fan.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Hef…now that’s some funny shit.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:15 am
too bad his gun couldn’t shoot ice bullets
May 6th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I saw somewhere that he owned 25 guns. Not positive that is true, but I was shocked by that.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Reggie Wayne prob won’t say much if Marv gets a few more passes thrown his way.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Spence: I don’t know if you’ve seen the standings lately, but I’m getting antsy. I’ve been out of first for three days. It’s a wholly unfamiliar experience for me. So…how’s your team doing?
May 6th, 2008 at 11:17 am
shield = best show on television still going..
May 6th, 2008 at 11:18 am
The way this is unfolding confuses me. It was definitively his gun that was involved in the shooting, yet it almost seems like they think someone else fired it. But nobody says the gun was stolen from him. I don’t get it, this whole thing is weird.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Hef…id be lying if i said ive been checking. i set my roster 3 weeks ago and have checked once since. i think im towards the middle in the top half, it’s a long season tho.
in all seriousness, i dont know how my team is even that high…my top two picks, papi and hafner were worthless.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:18 am
link to the 25 guns?
like to the list of athletes with guns?
I didn’t post this, but i went to a gun show Saturday. Interesting, that’s for sure. Never had been to one.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:19 am
where is clown for the gun show jokes?
May 6th, 2008 at 11:19 am
TBL went to the Gun Show? I thought the gun show came to hime?
May 6th, 2008 at 11:19 am
We don’t need no clown, irish. I’m on it.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:20 am
i had shot a gun once in my life before i moved to texas. both my roommates had concealed carry lisences and both had glocks of some sort.
so they took me to gun ranges a bunch of times and shot all sorts of crazy shit…AK-47, desert eagle (have a scar above my eye from a shell casing hitting me), semi-auto shotgun, m-4, m-16…crazy shit.
that said…guns scare the fuck out of me.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:21 am
TBL doesn’t pay to get into a gun show. They pay him just for showing up.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:22 am
@spencer- i can carry my gun. Florida permits that. i got a red laser 9 mili. scary thought huh
May 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am
TBL, I went to the same gun show. That was some kick ass shit!!!1!!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am
+1 Clown
May 6th, 2008 at 11:25 am
TBL, i’m looking for the link on gun owners in sports. it was years ago. i’ll post it if i find it.
Why did you go to a gun show? did you get out-curled at the gym and need something to feel safe?
May 6th, 2008 at 11:25 am
cmon clown you got better ones than that
May 6th, 2008 at 11:28 am
The feds are currently raiding a gun shop in PHX for selling guns to mexico (the entire country?). TBL, anything you want to tell us?
May 6th, 2008 at 11:29 am
irish: doing overtime at work today and it’s a bitch to type with this Chuck E. Cheese suit on. I’ll try to come strong later. RACK ME!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:29 am
First off…Everyone thought Jayson Williams was a great guy too…you can be a good guy and nuts all at the same time…Secondly..let’s not put the cart in front of the horse here, which surprisingly no one has really done yet with this and lastly…I was looking at that list of registered gun owners…no sight of Jason McIntyre…if I was you I would register those bad boys soon…they are LETHAL….
May 6th, 2008 at 11:30 am
you the man clown. you still owe me twenty
May 6th, 2008 at 11:31 am
and don’t think TBL did not set up the Gun Show reference…it is his quiet vanity that fuels him at the Gym
May 6th, 2008 at 11:39 am
i grew up with guns — my old man loves hunting. i grew up in a community where virtially every house had guns.
i quit hunting when i went to college (getting up at the crack of dawn hungover to walk for miles in brush when it’s 16 degrees out just so you *might* have a shot at a quail is not what i call “recreation.”).
the guns stayed at home when i went to college.
i do not own a gun, though i have no problem with them. simply put: when a gun leaves your house, unless you are going hunting, more often than not trouble finds you. guns outside the house are a magnet for trouble.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:40 am
One guy at work has admitted he has a concealed weapon permit, but doesn’t bring it to work. Still, he has the least coordination and shortest temper of anyone in the office. Scares me thinking he’s out there with guns.
Not trying to start a political debate, but in all seriousness what is the biggest/most advanced gun people really need for self-defense? I’ve never understood why people claim to need fully automatic assault rifles, etc. to protect their home/family.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Here is the best link I could find the the 25 guns. ESPN article link has changed since:
Link here
May 6th, 2008 at 11:42 am
I give blumpkins to LeBron James.
Buzz Bissinger wouldn’t be happy about all this speculation.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Roethlisdog…well..what if the British comeback? Huh? Really would you like it if the Queen of England came in to your house and started pushing you around…would you? Huh? Would you? That’s what I thought.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:43 am
TBL, i looked all over for the list of athletes with guns. no luck. i am 80% sure it was USA Today if you do some more research.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:44 am
cbh…if you go into you name in as logged in as..you can get to your profile and at the bottom is a place to leave your nickname..and it allows you to change your displayed name to your nickname if you so choose. Your profile will not change and will allow you to go back in a month
May 6th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Roethlishotdog…i tend to agree, this isnt the 18th century, and the British arent going to invade us. but it is in the Bill of Rights so…
seriously…you can own an AK-47 and get hammered off your ass, but if you take a hit of weed, it’s a crime. dear god.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Joe Davola is packing heat. Awesome.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:45 am
@bigtuna – Nobody needs a 0.50 caliber gun. I once fired a M1 Garand with 0.30 caliber bullets and I thought it was going to take my shoulder off.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:45 am
i’d sure feel safer with those than a pistol.
remember that what the feds classify as “automatic assault rifles” can often describe a standard .22 rifle. it doesn’t just mean some AK47, it could also mean a small rifle used to hunt squirrels and rabbits.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Big Nuts just shat himself
May 6th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Florio had an interesting story this morning.
Keith Russell is a dope of a sportscaster on a local news station here in Philly. He didn’t get the memo to cool down the Stu Scott-like shtick, so he’s great with unintentional humor.
I’ve never seen him break a big story like this, so i doubt that he’s right. Still another interesting wrinkle in this story.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Why hasn’t the man told police who the shooter was?
No snitchin!!!
Especially if Carmelo or Riley Freeman find out…
May 6th, 2008 at 11:48 am
@jim: Call of Duty 4 doesn’t count as firing a M1 Garand
May 6th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Wow, I screwed up that link. Let me try that again.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I don’t think the problem is with the style of gun that you have, although I agree that there are a lot of guns out there that have no place in a normal society. The problem is the people with the guns, and the reasons that they have them.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:50 am
They were going to shoot Marvin in the face!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:51 am
@benji – It was my uncle’s. He’s a big WWII nut. He’s seriously got over a thousand books on it and several vintage guns.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I wish it was Reggie Wayne in this sort of trouble.
Irish has a gun? Scary. I guess I’m gonna watch my back next time i visit the in-laws in Florida.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:52 am
It was probably just Kenard.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:53 am
the only reason for automatic rifles is for those shootouts like we see in all the bruce willis movies. seriously, these sweet battles happen all the time in movies or on 24. but it never happens in real life. once in a while, we’ll hear about a standoff but they usually end peacefully. where are all the good malitias these days?
/kidding
May 6th, 2008 at 11:54 am
@jim: i was just kidding. but i think that is a real gun in that video game.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Hahaha Roman that was great, way to start my day off (I just woke up!)
If you guys don’t know anything about guns, just know that a .50 caliber round is absolutely huge. Pistols don’t recoil like shotguns, but when you get up to .45 or .50 caliber the shooter’s arm will “jump” or go up into the air pretty forcefully. That would be my bet on him hitting a hand, then shoulder. Either way, that round will F your life up.
To put it in perspective, look here
On the right you have .22 caliber and 9mm rounds which are what most people and police officers carry for protection. All the way on the left is what Marhar was carrying. Scary.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:57 am
You can legally own an automatic weapon, but you forfit your 4th ammendment rights. If there is a shooting with an automatica weapon in the area, the police are going to pay you a visit. Very rarely do the people who go through the legal process of obtaining an automatic weapon actually commit crimes with it.
Me? I need to go ahead and buy that AR-15 before Obama becomes President.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:57 am
I will give him the benefit of the doubt until more is known. Marvin has earned that.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Yippie Kay yay, Melon Farmer.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I simplify things: You can have all the guns you want, but you are going to prove you are proficient with them, can keep them secure and have the maturity to handle them.
Or we can all go back to carrying swords. No more shootouts. And it’d make people wary of cutting ahead of others in line at the movies if you knew that the guy in front of you knows how to use that cutlass.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
So, it was Melo a couple weeks back and now Marvin. Is Syracuse the new Miami?
May 6th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
412…dont forget how ‘Cuse alum “stole” the Patriots’ perfect season.
yuk yuk yuk yuk yuk
May 6th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I was driving home after a final today and Stern was on a commercial so i flipped over to ESPN Radio and I heard Schrutebag go OFF on 610 WIP and their “angry-man” radio for reporting this and basically called the majority of the guys there dumb except, and here is the best part, he sucks Howard Eskin’s dick saying “but theres one guy there in the afternoon (Eskin) who has actually been to football games and knows a thing or to”
Eskin is the last person i go to for any take on the Eagles, he is a shill for them.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Whoa, whoa, whoa ginga! They have commercials on satellite radio!?! WTF is this about?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
yea about once an hour for 4 or 5 mins
May 6th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
At least Marvin Harrison knows how to select a premium handgun. The Five-SeveN is available to consumers, but it was developed by FN to be used by spefical forces and hostage rescue teams world-wide. The bullet (5.7mm) is a brand new design and has quite imrpessive penetration capabilities. The pistol frame is mostly composite material. A nice firearm, all things considered. And unique, which is something Marvin Harrison should have thought of. Five-SeveNs are very rare in the US and FN audits all pistols that are sold to non-official consumers. So, maybe Marvin would have been better off pulling out his snub-nose .38 or some generic 9mm.
There is also a sub machine gun in the same caliber, the P90. That is strictly reserved for law enforcement and military sales.
As far as gun ownership, hoo boy. I see the King of England argument, but really, people don’t need to possess superior firepower. It wouldn’t fuss Me one bit if you had to turn in your bullet hoses tomorrow.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Why does Harrison get the benefit of the doubt PurdueMatt?
May 6th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
If Reggie Wayne was in for questioning it would be a different story. People would automatically think he was guilty. Wonder why that is?
May 6th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Shrutebag called out WIP in Philly and their “source”, basically saying the station was a joke; so he was very reticent to believe anything they’re reporting on the story. Anyone in the area care to confirm or refute his allegations? I know, I know; it could be a case of the pot calling the kettle black, but I’m just curious.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
yeah, cowturd knows all about what a joke is.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I prefer the swords idea, in fact I might see if I can be allowed to start carrying one incase any of you South Canadians or North Mexicans decide you want to make the UK an extra part of your respective countries.
/guy who hates when England is used as a synonym for Britain