Photo Credit: Getty Images
A lot of words could be used to describe Greg Hardy and unless it’s one of his supporters, none of those words are going to be positive. Nicknamed “The Kraken”, Hardy has been known for being a dirty player and has been known for not having a filter. With his 4-game suspension ending, it could have been a great opportunity for Hardy to repair his image or at least try to make himself seem like a better human being.
Instead, Hardy proceeded to say that he was going to come out “guns blazing” and then talked about Tom Brady’s wife, Gisele Bündchen. To make matters worse, a music video has been released of Hardy making his rap debut and to save you the unfortunate viewing yourself, the video features a lot of guns, strippers and Hardy attempting to rap. If there’s one thing that Hardy needs right now, it’s to not be in the NFL.
The Dallas Cowboys, well Jerry Jones, thought that he was making a smart move when he signed the defensive end, but now everyone in the franchise should be embarrassed. Jerry Jones is the only one who seems to be justifying Hardy’s behavior. Head coach Jason Garrett has already warned Hardy about it, “We want to distinguish ourselves with our play, not with what we say. We define ourselves by what we do, not by what we say” which is exactly what Hardy needs to understand. In a league where they pride themselves on not having a single arrest in September since 2009, Hardy should follow Garrett’s advice. Honestly, if Hardy was smart, he would just focus on learning the Cowboys defense and work on his production on the field.
During media day, Hardy was asked multiple times about his past but decided to instead deflect the questions to his return. However when asked about the Patriots, Hardy made sure to bring up Brady’s wife, clearly not afraid of talking about women. As someone who should be ashamed of his behavior, Hardy keeps promoting the fact that he is a complete idiot who is good enough to make a roster because no matter what crime you commit, there’s going to be a place that wants you. Unless of course you’re Ray Rice, then you’re banned from the NFL for life and everyone is afraid to sign you, but only because there’s video evidence of Rice’s crimes.
For Hardy, there’s no video, no pictures and no concrete “evidence” to tie him to anything, so Hardy has been all but absolved of guilt. While there’s a clear victim in Rice’s case, Hardy’s victim refused to become that and has seamlessly disappeared out of Hardy’s life and the case. Without her there, Hardy has nothing to stand in his way and it shows with his lack of a filter.
Then there’s Jerry Jones who is almost as bad as commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell is allowing Hardy to play in the league, but Jones sees nothing wrong with Hardy. He even agreed with Hardy’s comments about Brady’s wife which is just plain unprofessional, not to mention disrespectful. If there’s one thing that the Cowboys franchise needs, it’s a complete makeover and a PR person who should tell Jerry Jones that it’s no longer 1950 and women are human beings, not objects. If nothing changes, it looks like the Cowboys will continue to be embarrassed.
Hardy is tarnishing an already destroyed league at this point and it’s easy to point fingers, but most of the blame has to be on Roger Goodell. The league has become a complete mockery of what it once was where a player was known for having good character and being a great player, but now it’s an either or for some players. The NFL has become an embarrassment and if there’s one thing that could bring it back, it would be to make good decisions, punish those like Hardy who deserve it and become a progressive organization that actually deals with issues instead of pretending they don’t exist.
