When the Colts convened for a mandatory minicamp last weekend, the team went to extraordinary lengths to protect receiver Marvin Harrison from media questions regarding his involvement (or, at a minimum, the involvement of a gun owned by him) in a shooting last month in Philadelphia.

According to Ashley Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Colts initially tried to bar a Philadelphia reporter from the minicamp.  But since that would violate league rules regarding media access, the reporter was permitted the same access as the Indianapolis journalist/cheerleaders sports reporters. 

But the Colts blocked all access to Harrison, coach Tony Dungy, and owner Jim Irsay.  The team instructed players and coaches not to answer quetions about Harrison’s off-field issue, and Harrison deftly avoided microphones and cameras.

It’s really not a surprise.  Few teams obsess as much as the Colts regarding the things that are said and written about the franchise in the media.  But it’s wrong and, in this specific case, it’s cowardly to try to suppress the truth. 

It also suggests that the organization is worried about what might come out of the Harrison situation.

And it should be.  The simple reality continues to be that Harrison’s gun was involved in a shooting, and the next day it was back in his possession.  If Harrison wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger, he should at least have an idea as to who did.  And if he refuses to talk — or talks without telling the truth — about who fired the bullets with Harrison’s gun, he might end up being an accessory after the fact.