James Harrison was right to reject his sons’ participation trophies

No son of James Harrison is going to keep a trophy he received just for showing up.

The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker returned trophies that were awarded to his sons, ages 6 and 8, for participating in a sports camp run by Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch (Harrison just doesn’t like quarterbacks, even ones who are beloved in Pittsburgh).

Harrison said on Instagram that he wants his sons to “EARN” their trophies.

 

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Harrison has 71.5 career sacks, and he’s just the guy to sack this pervading notion that just being on a team is enough to earn an award.

Do the 31 NFL teams that don’t win the Super Bowl get a mini-Lombardi Trophy? No. Sometimes, coaches that don’t win the Super Bowl get fired.

Children in youth sports who don’t reach a certain skill level or aren’t on a championship team need to get used to seeing other people win trophies and not them. If it bothers them enough, they can win one the next time if they work hard enough. If everyone has a trophy, what’s the incentive to do anything more than show up?

Harrison said in his post that sometimes trying your best isn’t good enough. When that happens, your “best” has to get better. If it doesn’t, some of these children with a bedroom full of trophies won’t understand someday why they don’t get a job that they want.

Some parents might say that Harrison is promoting a win-at-all-costs mentality. It’s true that when winning becomes an obsession, it can breed cheating and corruption.

However, one of the reasons Harrison’s argument in this debate is so strong is that if anyone should have received a trophy just for making a team, it’s him. He was cut four times in the first two years of his career, and even shipped to NFL Europe, before earning a roster spot with the Steelers in 2004. Even then, Harrison didn’t start until 2007.

But Harrison didn’t expect an award for finally earning a starting job at age 29. There’s no such award in the NFL. There is an honor that comes with making the Pro Bowl, and that’s what Harrison did for five straight seasons. He earned Defensive Player of the Year recognition for his 16 sacks in 2008 and helped the Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown, arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history.

Harrison’s story should inspire anyone, young athletes in particular, to not give up. Such perseverance comes in handy in a capitalist society in which there are winners and losers.

 

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