Marvin Harrison the hero. Don’t scoff, it may not be as preposterous as it seems.
The former star Colts wide receiver, whose reputation has been haunted by an alleged connection to a series of violent incidents in his native Philadelphia, helped a stranger in distress Saturday morning, he told the Indianapolis Star.
Judeau Brown told Philadelphia police that two masked men dressed in black entered the back of his apartment at approximately 3:20 a.m. Saturday. Brown, 38, dashed out the front door looking for help.
Harrison, who says he happened to be driving by at that late hour, let Brown hop into the bed of his pickup truck and drove off as the burglars fired two gunshots, one of which struck a tire on Harrison’s vehicle.
“I didn’t do anything but drive my car, pick a guy up and call 911,” Harrison. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time for this person.
“The unfortunate part is things are coming out negative. I had nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing to do with it. I was just driving, minding my own business.”
Brown said he was grateful for Harrison’s Good Samaritan intervention.
“People are trying to get a [negative] story off his name, but it wasn’t really about him,” Brown said. “He was just helping me out at the right time.
“I’ve called him and told him how grateful I am, that he actually stopped and helped me out. He acted when I needed him. In my eyes, he really saved my life.”
In April 2008, Philadelphia resident Dwight Dixon was shot in the hand outside of Playmakers, a North Philadelphia bar owned by Harrison, with a gun belonging to Harrison, according to a police investigation.
In 2009, Dixon was riddled with gunfire two blocks away from Playmakers. Before he died from his wounds, he told police he thought Harrison was behind the attack. Harrison was not charged with a crime.
Harrison escaped criminal charges in 2010 after police stopped him for a driving violation and confiscated a 9mm handgun. That history was dredged up by Harrison’s recent brush with guns on the streets of Philadelphia.
“The only thing I can tell you is when these negative reports came out on Sunday, the first thing that came to my mind is the next time something like this happens, I’ll just put my head down and keep on going,” Harrison told the Star. “Then I woke up Monday morning and [thought], ‘I don’t care what anybody says. If it happens 10 more times I’m going to do the same thing.'”