Steelers' James Harrison makes sons return participation trophies, saying they didn't earn them

Pittsburgh has long had the reputation as a working class town and when it comes to upholding that blue collar mentality, James Harrison believes it applies to all aspects of life — even on the home front.

And as proof of that, the Steelers linebacker is bringing up his kids with those same values in mind.

Here's his reaction to his two sons getting participation trophies at school, via his latest Instagram post:

"I came home to find out that my boys received two trophies for nothing, participation trophies! While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy. I'm sorry I'm not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I'm not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best...cause sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better...not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u up and keep you happy. #harrisonfamilyvalues"

I came home to find out that my boys received two trophies for nothing, participation trophies! While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy. I'm sorry I'm not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I'm not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best...cause sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better...not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u up and keep you happy. #harrisonfamilyvalues

A photo posted by James Harrison (@jhharrison92) on Aug 15, 2015 at 10:09am PDT

Whether you call it tough love or mean dad, Harrison makes a good point. Life lessons start early and kids should be taught about hard work, competition and earning the rewards of excellence before they get into the real world.

But confiscating the trophies after the boys won them? That's a harsh way to say that not everyone is going to get accepted to Princeton or play football at Alabama.

James Harrison rips ESPN's Adam Schefter for posting Jason Pierre-Paul’s medical report

The status of Jason Pierre Paul’s condition after a Fourth of July fireworks accident left everyone — including the New York Giants — wondering how serious his hand injury was.

That was until ESPN obtained a copy of the defensive end's medical report and Adam Schefter posted Pierre-Paul’s medical record confirming that the defensive end had his right index finger amputated.

And the ESPN reporter not only wrote about it, he posted JPP's actual medical record on Twitter for the world to see.

ESPN obtained medical charts that show Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul had right index finger amputated today. pic.twitter.com/VI5cbS1uCw

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 8, 2015

There was some dismay from the media and other NFL players after Schefter's post and Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker James Harrision was one of those who was angriest.

.@AdamSchefter You're a real piece of sh*t for putting that picture up!

— James Harrison (@jharrison9292) July 9, 2015

I'm going on a hunch here but I'm pretty sure that those medical docs obtain by ESPN are a violation of some sort. Not the smartest but...

— Justin Tuck (@JustinTuck) July 9, 2015

The real questions here are who the source was — which might be hard to find out — and the legality of handing out copies of personal medical records. And, now that it's out there, questions about doctor/patient confidentiality and the media are something the players have put in play.

If a medical provider leaked JPP medical information, that's a big HIPAA violation. Media like @AdamSchefter are not subject to those laws.

— David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) July 9, 2015

Sounds like this has opened an important legal issue for the player's union.