CLEVELAND — Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that 46-year-old Harold Davidson is still recovering from injuries sustained from Cleveland Browns training camp after management took him up on his offer to “play for free.”
“He kept sending me e-mails saying things like ‘Peyton Hillis sucks’ and ‘I could tackle better than D’Qwell Jackson,’” said Brown General Manager Tom Heckert. “But his continual claims to give him a shot because he would ‘play for free’ are what really attracted me, you know, with the current economy.”
Davidson’s friends said they were surprised he got the chance.
“He hadn’t really played organized since his senior year in high school,” said Davidson’s long time friend Mark Thompson. “I mean, he would sometimes get ultra competitive when he’d play catch with his kids and stuff, but I never really considered him pro material.”
Davidson, who is 5’10 and 250 pounds, was not big enough to play offensive or defensive line, fast enough to play running back or wide receiver, not smart enough to play quarterback, and too weak to play linebacker, according to Browns coach Pat Shurmur.
“I wasn’t sure where he’d fit in,” Shurmur said. “But hearing him talk, you’d think he was a first-round draft pick fresh out of college. He definitely had the confidence.”
He added that Davidson showed up to the first day of training camp saying things like “Hey McCoy, you’re a bitch!” to quarterback Colt McCoy and “You can’t stop me fucker!” to left tackle Joe Thomas.
“His heart can’t be questioned,” Thomas said. “However, when he got a nosebleed hitting a tackling dummy and pulled a hamstring during warm-ups, I could tell something was up.”
Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron said Davidson insisted he was alright, despite limping humorously and being clearly outmatched.
“He worked in on D-line when we started hitting, but his damn nose just wouldn’t stop bleeding, and his hammy issue was really slowing him down,” Jauron said. “After the first few times he was slammed by offensive linemen, he kept screaming ‘You ever heard of Rudy you pussies? Is that all you got?’ But that only made the offensive linemen angrier.”
Team trainers reported Davidson wheezing heavily between snaps, but said he continued to refuse assistance. They said Davidson kept saying “I’m not like these prima donnas.”
“His resolve can’t be questioned,” Shurmur said. “But there comes a time when you have to realize that just because your team made it to the high school playoffs and you made yourself good on Madden, doesn’t mean you can play in the NFL.”
Davidson finally allowed trainers to remove himself from the field of play after losing consciousness following a tackle attempt on Peyton Hillis, which saw Davidson get plowed over into the ground.
While he remains hospitalized several months after the injuries, Davidson is not giving up on life in the NFL — but his dream may come in a different capacity.
“My playing days may be behind me,” Davidson said. “But I’m coming for Shurmur’s job. He fuckin’ sucks.”
“Shit,” he added. “I’d coach for free.”
Heckert said he is considering Davidson’s offer.
Posted Jan. 12, 2012
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