Browns fan tackled by James Harrison in 2005 credits ex-Steeler star for changing his life

A tackle by James Harrison during a Pittsburgh Steelers game 20 years ago didn’t just end a fan’s dash onto the field — it helped start him on a path to sobriety. On Dec. 24, 2005, Harrison body-slammed a Browns fan during Pittsburgh’s 41-0 win in Cleveland. That fan — Nathan Mallett, then 24  — had run onto the field late in the game, disrupting play and drawing the wrath of Harrison, then a special-teams demon and backup linebacker. Twenty years after that event, Harrison and Mallett reminisced about the incident, which received national attention at the time, during a recent dinner in the Pittsburgh area. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Noah Miles chronicled the reunion. “I’m pretty pumped we were able to do this,” Mallett told Harrison. “I just want to say thank you, because I think you slammed some sense into me.” Mallett admitted he had been drinking heavily before the game, which fell on his birthday. He said thanks, in part, to Harrison’s tackle, he has now been sober for 16 years. “After I slammed