Update: Greg Hardy has agreed to be placed on the NFL Commissioner’s exempt list.
Carolina Panthers Defensive End Greg Hardy, in some ways, might be worse than the other criminals and losers making headlines in the NFL right now. I wouldn’t say Hardy is going under the radar- there’s been plenty of coverage of his crimes. It’s just that Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice are/were bonafide superstars. They were known for their talents on the field before becoming infamous for their deplorable actions off of it.
Juxtapose that against Greg Hardy and Ray McDonald, who most people have never even heard of until the NFL crime way took off. Now it doesn’t matter what they do on the field, they’ll be known first and foremost for their disgusting acts away from the football field.
Look at this exchange from NBC’s Football Night in America.
Bob Costas on Greg Hardy:
“Greg Hardy, in contrast, was arrested, he was charged, and he was convicted by a judge, and the details of what he is charged with are positively chilling. And yet, the Panthers allowed him to continue playing pending an appeal, which isn’t scheduled to be heard for several weeks yet. They finally deactivated him yesterday. It’s hard to believe that all of a sudden they had some sort of moral epiphany. Obviously, they finally bent to overwhelming public pressure because there was no defending what they were doing.”
Cris Collinsworth added: “But it’s easy to differentiate there, isn’t it? He was convicted. He’s in the appeals process now. So, to me, that’s a very bright line and very different from what we have with Ray McDonald at this point.”
No, the Panthers certainly did not have some kind of moral epiphany at the 11th hour by deactivating Greg Hardy at the last minute. Head Coach Ron Rivera took full responsibility for the decision, saying the buck stopped with him. That’s a lie; as the call was made from way above his head.
“This is not the NFL as we knew it before Monday. That Ray Rice video heightened public awareness to a degree that very smart people like Jerry Richardson had to sit down and rethink the way he conducts his business and I applaud him for making this move. You are sending a message to sponsors, to our many women fans, and most of all, all of us who work in this great league that this behavior is not tolerable.” – Michael Silver on the deactivation of Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport On Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy:
“This was an organizational decision. My Panthers’ source tells me that owner Jerry Richardson was very much involved all the way through in this decision so clearly his words earlier this week were something that not only fans took to heart, but something that the entire organization listened to, adhered to, and now Greg Hardy is inactive.”
That was what the NFL punditocracy was saying on Sunday. And by Monday morning, Greg Hardy was reactivated. He will practice this week, and the Panthers will determine later in the week if he’ll play or not. So whatever brand new social conscience the Carolina Panthers grew over the weekend. It’s gone now.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partners with Fox Sports and Yahoo. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN2.