Report: Cowboys’ Greg Hardy losing will to fight NFL over suspension
Published: July 7, 2015 1:30 pm
Greg Hardy might not be willing to bring the NFL to court if his suspension were reduced.
Hardy is “losing some of his will to fight,” reports Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, citing sources close to Hardy.
Cole reports that if Hardy can get some sort of reduction in his 10-game suspension, perhaps down to eight or six games, he may be willing to drop any further action against the NFL.
Hardy is worn down from a legal process and appeals process that has taken more than a year.
The Dallas Cowboys’ defender argued at an appeal hearing in late May for his 10-game suspension to be overturned or reduced.
Harold Henderson, a former NFL executive, heard the appeal in a session that reportedly lasted more than seven hours. He’s the same person who upheld the commissioner’s punishment on Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson last season, a case that eventually wound up in court before Peterson was reinstated by the league.
There appear to be at least two points of contention from Hardy’s perspective. The first is that he was found not guilty in the eyes of the law.
A judge did find Hardy guilty of domestic violence in July of 2014 and gave him 18 months probation after suspending a 60-day jail sentence. But Hardy and his attorney appealed, asking for a jury trial in a superior court. Charges were dismissed earlier this year when prosecutors were unable to locate the accuser, Nicole Holder, who failed to appear in court.
The second point of contention is that commissioner Roger Goodell’s punishment is excessive in light of what was outlined in the personal conduct policy (two games) at the time of the incident.
Goodell informed Hardy of his ruling in a letter. He told the Pro Bowl defensive end that the league’s extensive two-month investigation “determined that there was sufficient credible evidence that Hardy engaged in conduct that violated NFL policies in multiple respects and with aggravating circumstances.’’
The letter went on to inform Hardy that the investigation concluded that Hardy used physical force against his former girlfriend in at least four instances that included placing his hands around her neck and applying enough pressure to leave visible marks, shoving her against a wall and throwing her on a futon covered with at least four semi-automatic rifles.
“The net effect of these acts was that Ms. Holder was severely traumatized and sustained a range of injuries, including bruises and scratches on her neck, shoulders, upper chest, back, arms and feet,” Goodell wrote in the letter. “The use of physical force under the circumstances present here, against a woman substantially smaller than you and in the presence of powerful, military-style assault weapons, constitutes a significant act of violence in violation of the Personal Conduct Policy.”
Goodell stated in his view, the length of the suspension was appropriate under any version of the personal conduct policy or its predecessors.
Columnist Tim Cowlishaw was recently asked in a chat, do you think there is a chance that on appeal Greg Hardy might get a couple of games shaved off the suspension?
Cowlishaw: Yes, I think he has a better chance of reducing his suspension than Tom Brady does. I think that was the point of the NFL announcing 10. They want him to get six so you start with 10 and hope you hang onto six with the appeal going to an arbitrator.
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