My Take on the Greg Hardy Situation

By Joey Alibro

Twitter: @joeyalibro

By now, we’ve all read the story and seen the photos.

On May 12, 2014, Hardy brutally assaulted his then on and off girlfriend Nicole Holder. He dragged her by her hair, slammed her against the wall, and tossed her onto a futon piled with assault rifles. Holder feared for her life. Despite the state of North Carolina dismissing the charges and expunging it from Hardy’s record last week, this is what happened. Hardy lied and played victim that night on the 911 call, throughout the trial, and even now. He used his money to reach a civil settlement with Holder which forced prosecutors to dismiss the case on the basis of having insufficient evidence without Holder’s testimony. Hardy walked away scot free. Yeah, he was suspended 15 games last year and four this year, but so what? He’s reached an even higher level of stardom he had before since signing with “America’s Team” and he’s still making millions of dollars.

 

With Deadspin’s Diana Moskovitz releasing photos showing just how bad the injuries to Nicole Holder were, media coverage on Greg Hardy has skyrocketed. He has taken over radio talk shows, Twitter, and comment sections. But, where was all this outrage before? Where was this outrage when the full story came out months and months ago? Where was this outrage when Hardy was signed by the Cowboys and had his suspension reduced? The photos really haven’t changed anything. The story was out there. Hardy’s ruthlessness was out there. We just didn’t want to believe it.

One of the most baffling things about this whole ordeal is the backing he’s still getting despite not earning a bit of it. Jerry Jones reiterated his support for Hardy earlier this week and even went so far as to calling him a leader. Really, Jerry? Before, I didn’t like you because as a Giants fan, that was one of my duties. But now, you’ve reached an all new low. Is this the same leader who has shown absolutely zero remorse for what he did? Is this the same leader who has had to been talked to about his Twitter three times already? The same leader who talked about Brady’s wife? Or used the term “guns blazing”? Or was featured in a rap video where he raps about hitting women? The list goes on and on.

The way Greg Hardy has handled his situation is the antithesis of how Ray Rice has, yet somehow, Hardy is playing and Rice is not. Rice has handled it like a man who made a mistake. Hardy refuses to accept responsibility and admit he did something wrong. Yeah, he tweeted that half-assed apology earlier in the week, but then he went on to change his bio to this:

#Cowboys Greg Hardy has a new Twitter bio that wants to remind everyone that it's "innocent until proven guilty". pic.twitter.com/vB9cKB8QfI

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) November 11, 2015

Ray Rice has saved his marriage with counseling and is spreading awareness about domestic violence. Yet, he still finds himself without work. Ray Rice deserves a second chance, not Greg Hardy.

For once, I don’t have a problem with the way the league office handled something. They did all they could to keep him off the field. They tried suspending him 10 games this year, but under the CBA they could only give him four. There are also rumors swirling that someone in the league office is leaking all of this information about Hardy. This thing is far from over, but if the Cowboys had any sense they’d make the good PR move and cut ties with Hardy. They wouldn’t be missing much considering their season is all but over at 2-6. Then, it’s up to the 31 other teams to decide that Hardy will only be a cancer to the team until he accepts responsibility and changes his ways.

With the way things have gone so far though, I find that very unlikely.