Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison apologized Friday for comments he made about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a July story in Men’s Journal. Harrison, who was fined several times last season for supposedly illegal hits, said in the article, “My rep is James Harrison, mean son of a bitch who loves hitting the hell out of people,. But up until last year, there was no word of me being dirty – till Roger Goodell, who’s a crook and a puppet, said I was the dirtiest player in the league. If that man was on fire and I had to piss to put him out, I wouldn’t do it. I hate him and will never respect him.”

Now that the lockout is over and Harrison can expect a heavy fine from Goodell for making those comments, Harrison seems a bit chastened.

“The interview that I did and the comments that I made about Roger Goodell were inappropriate, at the least,” Harrison said, according to ESPN.com. “They were way out of line, and I was speaking out of anger and frustration at the time. Any comments that I made that offended anyone, I apologize.”