It has been 10 days since Greg Hardy‘s suspension was officially reduced from 10 games to four games, and it has been five days since we heard that a decision from Hardy’s camp on whether or not to file a lawsuit was coming “any time now.” So far though, there’s been no word on Hardy’s decision. A source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the Cowboys defensive end is still waiting on the final recommendation from the NFL Players Association.
Before the ruling on Hardy’s appeal, at least one report indicated that Hardy, agent Drew Rosenhaus, and the NFLPA intended to pursue legal action if the suspension was for more than two games, since that was the standard penalty established by the NFL’s old personal conduct policy for such an incident. In upholding a four-game ban, arbitrator Harold Henderson split the different between the old policy and the new one, which calls for at least a six-game suspension.
Still, as Florio points out, it wouldn’t be a great look for the NFLPA to take the league to court over a suspension that’s already viewed as a fairly lenient penalty for a domestic incident like Hardy’s. Additionally, there’s no guarantee at this point that the case would be resolved before the conclusion of the second week of the regular season, so Hardy may have to seek a preliminary injunction to get on the field in the meantime, risking the possibility of serving the suspension during more crucial games later in the year.
I expect we’ll get a decision from Hardy and his camp within the next few days, before players report to training camp later this month.
It might not be a great look for the NFLPA, but at the end of the day it’s their job to fight for players. As bad as what Hardy, and Ray Rice, and others have done, the fact remains that that’s what unions are for — to fight for you when no one else is going to. On a personal note, I hope Hardy isn’t shown any more leniency, but that doesn’t mean the NFLPA shouldn’t do its job.
I think everyone forgets Greg Hardy vehemently denied what he was accused of. Instead they took what his accuser said as fact and not as just “one side” to a story.
Remember the judge, on a bench trial where the judge just reads a police reports an ask questions with no cross examination from the defense team, found him guilty but sentenced him to 10 months probation no jail time so it’s safe to say she didn’t completely believe one side but more or less the truth was between what the two parties stories were.