Pittsburgh Steelers James Harrison Apologizes Via Twitter For Anti-Gay Slur Directed Towards NFL Commissioner Goodell; “I Am Not A Homophobic Bigot”

Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison apologized Thursday for using an anti-gay slur to refer to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in an interview with Men's Journal, and says his critical statements about teammates were taken out of context, USA Today reports. After making headlines for his comments in Men's Journal Wednesday, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison explained his comments on Twitter. Harrison apologized for using anti-gay slurs in reference to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and claims his remarks about his teammates were taken out of context. Harrison posted a statement on his Twitter account, with the message: "This statement will be my only response to the Men's Journal article." In the article, the Steelers' star criticized Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back Rashard Mendenhall for their play in last season's Super Bowl loss to Green Bay. Harrison called Mendenhall a "fumble machine" for his fourth-quarter turnover and said Roethlisberger needed to "stop trying to act like Peyton Manning.""I did make comments about my teammates when I was talking about the emotional Super Bowl loss, but the handful of words that were used and heavily publicized yesterday were pulled out of a long conversation and the context was lost," Harrison said in his statement. "Obviously, I would never say that it was all Ben's or Rashard's fault that we lost the Super Bowl. That would be ridiculous. Both Ben and Rashard are great players and great teammates." Harrison's harshest words in the article were aimed at Goodell, whom he called a "crook" and a "devil." He also said in the article of Goodell, "I hate him and will never respect him." Harrison did not mention those insults, but did say the anti-gay slur directed at the commissioner "was not intended to be derogatory against gay people in any way. It was careless use of a slang word and I apologize to all who were offended by the remark. I am not a homophobic bigot, and I would never advocate intolerance of gay people."