Hardy Suspended First 10 Games

[kidhawk]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL/status/590969926552256514[/tweet]

We play them week 8

 

[TriCHawk]

Oh damn! Well great pick up for Dallas... money well spent! :th2thumbs:

 

[Largent80]

:lol:

 

[Basis4day]

Oh damn! Well great pick up for Dallas... money well spent! :th2thumbs:

Most of his salary is in per game roster bonuses.

 

[titan3131]

I feel that they should let him play but without pay for 10 weeks.

 

[kidhawk]

[urltargetblank]https://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/4-22-15-hardy.pdf[/urltargetblank]

The link leads to the full release by the NFL on the suspension. Here's a portion of that

The NFL’s investigation concluded that Hardy violated the Personal Conduct Policy by using
physical force against Nicole Holder in at least four instances. First, he used physical force against
her which caused her to land in a bathtub. Second, he used physical force against her which caused
her to land on a futon that was covered with at least four semi-automatic rifles. Third, he used
physical force against her by placing his hands around Ms. Holder’s neck and applying enough
pressure to leave visible marks. And fourth, he used physical force to shove Ms. Holder against a
wall in his apartment’s entry hallway.
“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,” Commissioner Goodell wrote. “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.”

 

[kidhawk]

Looks like the commissioner has threatened a permanent ban should he re-offend. He has 3 days to appeal

“You must have no further adverse involvement with law enforcement and must not commit
any additional violations of league policies,” Commissioner Goodell wrote. “In that respect, you should
understand that another violation of this nature may result in your banishment from the NFL.”

Hardy may appeal the decision within three days.

 

[Sports Hernia]

As one of the biggest Rog critics on here, I have to give him credit in this case. I was thinking 6 or less games.
Looks like with the evidence they have this may not be reduced, as he assaulted her 4 times (that they know of).

I thought because Hardy now plays for Americas ("most wanted") team that Rog would go easy on him. Looks like the blow back from the Ray Rice incident was the kick to "the man marbles" that Rog needed to start taking domestic abuse by NFL players seriously.

Hardy is lucky he wasn't kicked out of the league.

The one smart thing that Stephen Jones did in signing Hardy was only paying him in the games he plays.

 

[jake206]

How about them cowboys :lol:

 

[kearly]

I can't say I love this. Hardy gets what is effectively a 25 game suspension for charges that were DROPPED. I struggle to see this as anything other than it being even more Goodell ass covering. If he really cared, and if his investigation found something to justify this move, then why not just ban Hardy entirely?

This feels a lot less like justice and a lot more like a PR move. It sets a worrisome precedent as well.

Not surprisingly, Hardy is already appealing this. It will probably do him about as much good as AP's appeals did, of course.

 

[kearly]

I know that. I guess I'm just always skeptical of someone who goes away after being paid. That plus the limited witness testimony didn't back her story up. In these cases it can be tough sometimes to know who's lying.

 

[hawknation2015]

I can't say I love this. Hardy gets what is effectively a 25 game suspension for charges that were DROPPED. Just looks like yet even more Goodell ass covering. If he really cared, and if his investigation found something to justify this move, then why not just ban Hardy entirely?

This feels a lot less like justice and a lot more like a PR move. It sets a worrisome precedent as well.

Not really. It is stated explicitly in the new Personal Conduct Policy that a player may be punished by the league even if he is not formally charged or convicted, as long as the league itself finds evidence that a violation of the policy has occurred.

This is a perfect example for why this rule is in place. Hardy was CONVICTED of two counts of assaulting a female and communicating threats. The charges against Hardy were dismissed on appeal only because court officials were unable to locate his battered girlfriend, which happens so often in domestic violence cases.

Would you have preferred that Hardy get no suspension at all because his conviction for assault was thrown out on a technicality? As a private employer, the NFL is free to make its own determinations.

As for why Hardy was not banished from the NFL, that is a judgment call. On the one hand, you have strong evidence of multiple counts of domestic violence (physical and testimonial) for which Hardy was convicted at the trial level. On the other hand, you have an overturned convicted as a result of the woman's disappearance during the appeal. In attempting to strike the right balance, the league chose a 10-game suspension. 10 games, in addition to the 15 games of paid leave he received while the process played out, seems fair to me under the circumstances.

What punishment would you have given Hardy? Zero games or all games?

 

[kearly]

I know that. I guess I'm just always skeptical of someone who gets paid off. That plus the limited witness testimony didn't back her story up. I think Hardy is probably guilty, but there is definitely reasonable doubt.

He was already convicted via bench trial, there was more than enough evidence to find him guilty. The appeal was a legal maneuver coupled with the civil settlement, which is basically getting off on a technicality -- or paying someone off to not show up in court.

I know. It's just my opinion. I personally don't put a lot of stock into a non-jury trial with a female judge that basically went down in one day, and I think it's kind of fishy that money made this victim go away so easily.

I think there is a very good chance Hardy is guilty. If there was hard evidence of guilt then I'd be all for having Hardy thrown out of the league. I guess I'm just a big fan of proceeding with a bit more caution given that these crimes come down to judgement calls about who is lying. And both sides lie.

Truthfully, it doesn't bother me all that much in this specific case, since I think Hardy is probably guilty. It's just the precedent that I'm not totally in love with. Also, I think the exempt list is bullshit, and it definitely isn't helping relations with the NFLPA.

 

[kidhawk]

I can't say I love this. Hardy gets what is effectively a 25 game suspension for charges that were DROPPED. I struggle to see this as anything other than it being even more Goodell ass covering. If he really cared, and if his investigation found something to justify this move, then why not just ban Hardy entirely?

This feels a lot less like justice and a lot more like a PR move. It sets a worrisome precedent as well.

Not surprisingly, Hardy is already appealing this. It will probably do him about as much good as AP's appeals did, of course.

He was also given full pay during his time on the exempt list while he didn't play, so although it hurt the team, and it would hurt his lifetime stats, he didn't take a hit in the pocketbook during that time he was exempt. To me, this isn't much of a punishment at all, and therefor any punishment is doled out after the facts are in and this is what is being deemed a fair punishment under the system as it is today.

If it were an unpaid time on the exemption list, I'd agree, but since he was paid, we can't really count that as punishment.

 

[kearly]

He was also given full pay during his time on the exempt list while he didn't play, so although it hurt the team, and it would hurt his lifetime stats, he didn't take a hit in the pocketbook during that time he was exempt. To me, this isn't much of a punishment at all, and therefor any punishment is doled out after the facts are in and this is what is being deemed a fair punishment under the system as it is today.

If it were an unpaid time on the exemption list, I'd agree, but since he was paid, we can't really count that as punishment.

That's a good point. The NFLPA is pissed off as it is, Goodell would have a war on his hands if he'd taken away player's paychecks while on the exempt list.

You are right about the punishment aspect. For a lot of players, and Hardy is probably one of them, it's losing money that bothers them more than losing participation.

 

[Largent80]

Dudes that hit women (especially weight lifting mega strong ones that play professional sports) are cowards and should lose their job over it. PERIOD.

 

[Sports Hernia]

I can't say I love this. Hardy gets what is effectively a 25 game suspension for charges that were DROPPED. I struggle to see this as anything other than it being even more Goodell ass covering. If he really cared, and if his investigation found something to justify this move, then why not just ban Hardy entirely?

This feels a lot less like justice and a lot more like a PR move. It sets a worrisome precedent as well.

Not surprisingly, Hardy is already appealing this. It will probably do him about as much good as AP's appeals did, of course.

I'm pretty sure he got suspended WITH pay last year. The NFL doesn't consider that a punishment.

Is Goodell covering his ass? Of course he is. ....but in this case I agree with Rog as much as it pains me to say that.

Justice is handled in the courts and IMO they failed badly. If this was you or I that did the things that Hardy did, we would have done prison time, but he had the money to make the victim "go away".

Is she a gold digger? More than likely, but that doesn't mean she deserves to get beat up.

If I were Goodell I would push for a zero tolerance policy when it comes to DV.
One strike and call it a NFL career.

Just my opinion of course.

 

[ctrcat]

I can't say I love this. Hardy gets what is effectively a 25 game suspension for charges that were DROPPED. I struggle to see this as anything other than it being even more Goodell ass covering. If he really cared, and if his investigation found something to justify this move, then why not just ban Hardy entirely?

This feels a lot less like justice and a lot more like a PR move. It sets a worrisome precedent as well.

Not surprisingly, Hardy is already appealing this. It will probably do him about as much good as AP's appeals did, of course.

I'm pretty sure he got suspended WITH pay last year. The NFL doesn't consider that a punishment.

It was punishment alright...for the Panthers who had to pay the 13.1 mil tag and now likely won't get a comp pick which may have been as much as a 3rd rounder due to this. Again what kills me is that he played in week 1 AFTER the "bench trial", had 4 tackles and a sack, and then a totally unrelated elevator video from Atlantic City comes out. My last post here or anywhere on the topic.

 

[mikeak]

Here is my problem with it.

I understand the message they wanted to send and I don't disagree with that. I do disagree with ignoring the time on the exemption list. They have to figure out how to penalize financially for the time on the exemption list and then count them as suspended games

What they are doing now will de-incentivice teams from putting players on the exempt list. The league should have given a suspension equal to the number of games they want him out. If that number was 25 then they should have fined him equal to the salary of the 15 games last year plus suspend him for 10 games this year. If the actual number of suspension would have been 10 they should have only fined him and given him credit for time served

The issue now is when a future player gets in trouble. The team knows that the player will get a suspension later regardless of what they do now. So they are better off keeping the guy on the field. The option is paying him and not getting his service and in addition he gets a suspension later

 

[Scottemojo]

I can't say I love this. Hardy gets what is effectively a 25 game suspension for charges that were DROPPED. I struggle to see this as anything other than it being even more Goodell ass covering. If he really cared, and if his investigation found something to justify this move, then why not just ban Hardy entirely?

This feels a lot less like justice and a lot more like a PR move. It sets a worrisome precedent as well.

Not surprisingly, Hardy is already appealing this. It will probably do him about as much good as AP's appeals did, of course.

I'm pretty sure he got suspended WITH pay last year. The NFL doesn't consider that a punishment.

Is Goodell covering his ass? Of course he is. ....but in this case I agree with Rog as much as it pains me to say that.

Justice is handled in the courts and IMO they failed badly. If this was you or I that did the things that Hardy did, we would have done prison time, but he had the money to make the victim "go away".

Is she a gold digger? More than likely, but that doesn't mean she deserves to get beat up.

If I were Goodell I would push for a zero tolerance policy when it comes to DV.
One strike and call it a NFL career.

Just my opinion of course.

The NFL is insane if they think his suspension with pay for 2014 counts for nothing, that suspension played a role in costing him tens of millions in guaranteed money in a long term deal. Also, why wait until now to reach a decision if they were just going to suspend him sans legal finding anyway? They could have had all this info last year, why not suspend him with no pay in 2014 for the final ten games? With as slow as the american justice system moves, it just makes more sense to evaluate cases without legal findings anyway. Or Roger could have him pay back 10 games worth of last year's salary and actually make it an unpaid suspension.

Zero tolerance is the silliest of things, to me. Not every DV incident is created equal. Why should the punishment be identical?

It isn't justice if it doesn't happen reasonably quickly. Nothing about this feels reasonably quick.