Greg Hardy... Even though it's right, it's wrong

Ever since the video of Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiance, followed quickly by Adrian Peterson and the discipline of his son, domestic violence has been a topic of conversation in the NFL. Ray Rice lost his career as a result of his actions and Peterson lost nearly a full season. Most recently, it's Greg Hardy.

Hardy's case is disturbing, to say the least. He was found guilty of assault and “communicating threats” but somehow he was able to set aside the conviction and opt for a trial jury. This after the victim courageously testified against her attacker, detailing the beating, the choking, the guns. Not surprisingly, and as it happens in too many cases of domestic abuse, she stopped cooperating with the prosecution and charges were dropped. Nonetheless, Hardy had to serve an NFL-imposed suspension.

During his suspension, he was signed to a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys. Many were openly critical of the move by Jerry Jones, but Jerry assured everyone that Hardy was deserving of a second chance, knew he had done wrong and had learned from his mistakes. Immediately upon his return to the Cowboys, following his suspension, he talked big about coming out “guns blazing” and making really creepy remarks about Tom Brady's wife. People everywhere, except Dallas, were outraged.

Now the photos of the woman he assaulted last year have been made public. People everywhere are even further outraged. Hardy's peers, across the league, are openly condemning him. On ESPN's “NFL Countdown” show that aired on November 8^th, reporter Wendi Nix went on the attack (see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wendi-nix-greg-hardy_563f87ede4b0411d307161a3). One of the comments that she made really infuriated me, and it made me think about a lot of the commentary and rhetoric being thrown around by all the experts. The statement was that people didn't need to see the pictures to know what happened.

BULLSHIT. People are acting like Ray Rice and Greg Hardy are the first and second pro football players to ever hit their girlfriends. The conversation went on to say that Hardy should have had to earn the second chance he was given by the Cowboys. Show some regret, contrition. Show that he's changed his ways. BULLSHIT. Ray Rice did all the things that people say Hardy should have done in order to get a second chance. Where is Rice's second chance? He came out immediately very apologetic, taking full responsibility for his actions, pursuing anger management counseling, etc. It wasn't enough. But then again, he was approaching the end of his career, with his best days behind him. In comparison, Greg Hardy is 27 years old and in his prime. If Rice had a few good, dominating years on the field left in him, you'd see him in someone's uniform.

The truth of the matter is that the NFL is not outraged by the violence. If they were, incidents like Janay Rice and the cocktail waitress who had the snot kicked out of her by Hardy wouldn't have been needed in order to exact change. The only reason that the NFL is taking a hard stand against domestic violence is because the videos and the pictures were public, and it's the public who is demanding the outrage.

And so to all those who are acting so shocked and horrified at Greg Hardy and are sitting in judgment of him, I say this: Get off your high horse and stop being such hypocrites. Unless and until every person involved in the NFL, from coaches and owners and players to journalists and talking heads, current and former and future, unless and until a TRUE Zero Tolerance policy is embraced, you are a part of the problem.