Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Asking for a friend
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Where is the Greg Hardy media outrage? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Dan Lambskin
- Start date
SameSongNDance
Footballguy
Not everyone has heard the 911 phone call or read the police report?
Donnybrook
Footballguy
Probably because TMZ hasn't got hold of the pics of his abused girlfriend.
SameSongNDance
Footballguy
That story is pretty ####ed up though. He was choking her out than picked her up over his head and threw her onto a pile of what he dubbed, loaded assault rifles. Sick ******* haha.
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
? Seemed to be the lead story on SC last night and possibly discussed on one of the 6:30 network news shows, from what I could tell at the gym last night.
SpruceGoose
Footballguy
Quick...somebody call Harvey Levin!
Englishteacher
Footballguy
Headline at PFT right now:
CBA or not, Panthers need to do something with HardyPosted by Mike Florio on September 13, 2014, 11:46 AM EDT
APThe Ray Rice video has shifted the NFL’s axis. With the league office currently distracted by other issues and the Commissioner’s ability to enforce the rules undermined for now (and possibly for good), the various teams must decide how to handle existing situations that became more difficult, awkward, and/or challenging the moment the world saw in graphic terms what domestic violence actually looks like.
The Vikings, with the Adrian Peterson situation arising post-Rice, immediately knew that, no matter what he says or believes or how much football will provide a refuge, Peterson can’t play two days after being indicted on domestic violence charges. For the Panthers and 49ers, whose rosters currently include key players accused of domestic violence in Greg Hardy and Ray McDonald, the situation becomes far more complicated.
The labor deal and the personal-conduct policy contemplate that first-time offenders generally won’t be disciplined while their cases are pending. For the Panthers, a convoluted North Carolina criminal procedure has led to multiple inaccurate reports that Hardy has been convicted, and that his case is pending on appeal. In reality, Hardy hasn’t had his official day in court. A judge has found him guilty, and he now has a right to a trial from scratch in front of a jury.
Before the Rice video emerged, the failure of the team or the league to act against Hardy following a judge deciding based on testimony and other evidence that Hardy was guilty of domestic violence amounted to an oddity that generated little attention. After the Rice video, it has become harder to understand why the Panthers or the NFL haven’t suspended or otherwise taken action against Hardy.
There’s enough wiggle room in the language of the personal-conduct policy to allow the league to act against Hardy, if the league really wanted to. The league didn’t want to before the Rice video; now, for entirely different reasons, the league as a practical matter can’t.
But the Panthers can. While it’s probably too late to suspend Hardy without pay for conduct detrimental to the team, they can deactivate him with pay in any given week, just as the Vikings did with Peterson. Yes, the 2006 CBA reversed a team’s ability to send a guy home with pay, like the Bucs and Keyshawn Johnson and the Eagles andTerrell Owens. Still, there’s no effective way for a player or the union to challenge a team’s determination regarding which seven of the 53 players on the active roster won’t suit up on a given Sunday, Monday, Thursday, or Saturday.
The dilemma for the Panthers and every other team arises from the time-honored double standard in sports. Excuses are made for the stars; exceptions are made of the scrubs. Less than two weeks ago, the 49ers trotted out terms like “due process” and “the Constitution” as cover for the simple fact that McDonald remains on the field because he’s good at football. If he wasn’t, he’d be gone.
The Rice video has changed that presumption. Especially for players like Hardy, who have had a day in court, even if he still gets another bite at the legal apple. (Don’t mind the maggots.) For that reason alone, Panthers coach Ron Rivera should exercise his prerogative to deactivate Hardy for Sunday’s game against the Lions, and the Panthers should promptly study the transcript from the 10-hour trial, investigate further as needed, and make the hard decision as to whether Hardy deserves to continue to be a member of the organization — even if the balance of his $13.1 million salary is fully guaranteed.
Meanwhile, the folks at Pepsi may be thinking about saying to the Panthers, “We know we pay you a lot of money to put our logo on your teams’ practice jerseys. How much more would we have to pay for you to take it off of Hardy’s?”
CBA or not, Panthers need to do something with HardyPosted by Mike Florio on September 13, 2014, 11:46 AM EDT
The Vikings, with the Adrian Peterson situation arising post-Rice, immediately knew that, no matter what he says or believes or how much football will provide a refuge, Peterson can’t play two days after being indicted on domestic violence charges. For the Panthers and 49ers, whose rosters currently include key players accused of domestic violence in Greg Hardy and Ray McDonald, the situation becomes far more complicated.
The labor deal and the personal-conduct policy contemplate that first-time offenders generally won’t be disciplined while their cases are pending. For the Panthers, a convoluted North Carolina criminal procedure has led to multiple inaccurate reports that Hardy has been convicted, and that his case is pending on appeal. In reality, Hardy hasn’t had his official day in court. A judge has found him guilty, and he now has a right to a trial from scratch in front of a jury.
Before the Rice video emerged, the failure of the team or the league to act against Hardy following a judge deciding based on testimony and other evidence that Hardy was guilty of domestic violence amounted to an oddity that generated little attention. After the Rice video, it has become harder to understand why the Panthers or the NFL haven’t suspended or otherwise taken action against Hardy.
There’s enough wiggle room in the language of the personal-conduct policy to allow the league to act against Hardy, if the league really wanted to. The league didn’t want to before the Rice video; now, for entirely different reasons, the league as a practical matter can’t.
But the Panthers can. While it’s probably too late to suspend Hardy without pay for conduct detrimental to the team, they can deactivate him with pay in any given week, just as the Vikings did with Peterson. Yes, the 2006 CBA reversed a team’s ability to send a guy home with pay, like the Bucs and Keyshawn Johnson and the Eagles andTerrell Owens. Still, there’s no effective way for a player or the union to challenge a team’s determination regarding which seven of the 53 players on the active roster won’t suit up on a given Sunday, Monday, Thursday, or Saturday.
The dilemma for the Panthers and every other team arises from the time-honored double standard in sports. Excuses are made for the stars; exceptions are made of the scrubs. Less than two weeks ago, the 49ers trotted out terms like “due process” and “the Constitution” as cover for the simple fact that McDonald remains on the field because he’s good at football. If he wasn’t, he’d be gone.
The Rice video has changed that presumption. Especially for players like Hardy, who have had a day in court, even if he still gets another bite at the legal apple. (Don’t mind the maggots.) For that reason alone, Panthers coach Ron Rivera should exercise his prerogative to deactivate Hardy for Sunday’s game against the Lions, and the Panthers should promptly study the transcript from the 10-hour trial, investigate further as needed, and make the hard decision as to whether Hardy deserves to continue to be a member of the organization — even if the balance of his $13.1 million salary is fully guaranteed.
Meanwhile, the folks at Pepsi may be thinking about saying to the Panthers, “We know we pay you a lot of money to put our logo on your teams’ practice jerseys. How much more would we have to pay for you to take it off of Hardy’s?”
FUBAR
Footballguy
Shock value is everything.
We just started week 2 and I'm already burnt out on this soap opera we call the NFL.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
The NFL is sending a subtle, indirect message that the penalty for embarrassing the league via pictures and video is much harsher than if the player does their dirty business in private.
Jerry Curl
Footballguy
I think choking a woman and telling her you will kill her after throwing her on AK-47s and in the bathtub is worse than anything Ray Rice did, and what Ray Rice did was awful.
But he will play this weekend, while Ray Rice who was tried in the courts and already punished by the league once will not, because his was on video and TMZ released it.
Any person with a brain can see what the difference is. Do not confuse my comparisons with defending anyone please.
But he will play this weekend, while Ray Rice who was tried in the courts and already punished by the league once will not, because his was on video and TMZ released it.
Any person with a brain can see what the difference is. Do not confuse my comparisons with defending anyone please.
cstu
Footballguy
cstu
Footballguy
NCCommish
Footballguy
People seem to forget one little distinction. Ray confessed, has been found guilty and given his sentence. There are no appeals, the legal process is over. This is not the case for Hardy. Further unlike the video in Rice's case there is conflicting testimony in Hardy's case. For example it was Hardy that called the cops on the woman and has a witness who says they saw her attack him.. It was the woman who had recently attacked Hardy in public and had to be pulled off by a security guard in a public place. This isn't quite Ray Rice. If he is found guilty by a jury he will be dealt with. And really either way he is unlikely to be a Panther next year they can't afford him.
Gary Coal Man
Footballguy
This is the correct answer. The bigger the star, the bigger the fall, the bigger the story. Hardly anybody knew Greg Hardy before his criminal case. Nearly every sports fan had heard of Ray Rice, and Peterson is on an even higher level. It's human nature to care more about stories involving people we know even if the stories involving people we don't know are actually more horrific.
treat88
Footballguy
I agree that the league shouldn't head down the road of punishing players based on just accusation. Be it by police or otherwise.
In instances where the behavior isn't in question, such as Rice or Peterson, I don't think a criminal conviction is necessary to act. But generally, I agree that the player should be granted due process before punishment is rendered.
fruity pebbles
Footballguy
6 weeks isn't enough for Hardy imo
FUBAR
Footballguy
Which is why there should be an administrative process to suspend a player, not the need to wait for a criminal trial. The burden of proof should be much lower to fire the ###### than to put him in jail.
NCCommish
Footballguy
Yeah I mean Peterson essentially tweeted a confession to the mother. He admitted the switch was wrapping around the kids thigh. He admitted he hit the kid in the scrotum with the switch. The kid has said he felt like "Daddy would punch him in the face" if he said anything. And it was the doctor that reported the abuse not the Mom based on what I read. Doctors don't report for fun.
Now to be clear I think spanking should be in the punishment choices. I was spanked. I even cut a switch or two in my day. But I never, ever had any marks like that on me. Because I was spanked. A few swats on the butt to get my attention. I wasn't beaten. This child was beaten. There is a huge difference.
NCCommish
Footballguy
Look, you can't have it both ways. Either you want to wait until the legal process completes or you don't. Whether AP "confessed" or not in his texts is irrelevant. He admitted to doing something. Whether what he admitted to is illegal or not can only be decided by the legal process. So, are you in favor of letting AP be until the legal process is over or are you ready to punish him now?
The player should be placed on paid administrative leave, just like many professions do when someone is accused of wrongdoing. SOP for cops. Why not NFL players too?
FUBAR
Footballguy
Last edited by a moderator:
Unfortunately I don't think it's subtle. Quite blatant, really. Ray Rice wasn't fired because he hit his fiancee. He was fired because of the outrage over the video. Does anyone think AP would have been deactivated if Rice hadn't happened? Allowing a Hardy or MacDonald to play says a lot about the culture of the NFL and what they deem important. I have no respect for Ron Rivera and the Panthers organization for allowing Hardy to play after a judge found him guilty. Hiding behind, "Let's wait for the legal system to play itself out," is weak in this case. How long would it have taken them to can the 53rd guy on the roster? About 5 minutes after he was arrested?
This league is run by billionaires. They aren't about to let this stuff get in the way of making their money. They didn't get to be billionaires that way.
Boston
Footballguy
http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/09/12/greg-hardy-carolina-panthers-domestic-abuse
Hard to believe after reading this that you would think Hardy should be playing this Sunday...
Hard to believe after reading this that you would think Hardy should be playing this Sunday...
