Jarrett Bell

USA TODAY Sports

LATROBE, Pa. – James Harrison insists that he is hardly sweating the unresolved issue with the NFL that has followed him to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp.

The grizzled linebacker, one of five players, including retired and since-cleared star Peyton Manning, linked to possible PED use in allegations that surfaced in December, still hasn’t interviewed with NFL investigators – despite the league’s prior contention that it would meet with the players at the start of camp.

“I’m not even thinking about it,” Harrison told USA TODAY Sports on Friday night, in his first public comments since arriving at St. Vincent’s College. “It’s not going to affect me. It’s all flimsy, (expletive) allegations, anyway.”

Although Manning cooperated with the NFL and was recently cleared, Harrison and the other players – Green Bay Packers defenders Julius Peppers, Clay Matthews and free agent Mike Neal – have refused the interviews, holding held their ground in concert with the NFL Players Association in maintaining that the league has a weak basis for pursuing the matter that stemmed from since-recanted claims by a source in a report by the Al-Jazeera network.

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Like the other players, Harrison vehemently denied any links to the PEDs and sent an affidavit to the NFL expressing that position.

Beyond that, Harrison – who has butted heads against the league over several issues during his 14-year career and been a vocal critic of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell – went a step further and declared that he would agree to an interview at his home before camp… if Goodell attended.

That request wasn’t taken seriously at NFL headquarters.

Although the issue lingers, Harrison, 38, maintains, “I’m past it. There’s nothing else I’m going to give them.”

Asked if teammates have asked him about the allegations since he arrived in camp, Harrison laughed.

“No, nobody’s said anything,” he said. “They know it’s all (expletive).”

Harrison is sweating, however, in another sense.

Wearing a full sweatsuit and hoodie during the first camp practice, he dropped 13 pounds.

“Water weight,” he said.

Now if he can only rid himself of another type of weight.