Greg Hardy Suspended
After being initially charged and found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend by a judge in Charlotte, NC in July of 2014, defensive end Greg Hardy, formerly of the Carolina Panthers and now under contract with the Dallas Cowboys, appealed the ruling and asked for a jury trial. The original verdict was set aside after Hardy’s ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder decided not to cooperate with authorities because of a financial settlement she had reached with Hardy.
Though all charges were ultimately dropped in February of 2015, Hardy ended up missing practically all of the 2014 season as the Panthers placed him on the inactive list in week 2 and then the Commissioner’s Exempt list on week 3.
The official league statement was released late this afternoon.
Greg Hardy of the Dallas Cowboys was notified today that he is suspended without pay for the team’s first 10 games of the 2015 regular season for conduct detrimental to the league in violation of the NFL Constitution and By-Laws, the NFL Player Contract, and the NFL Personal Conduct Policy.
In a letter from Commissioner Roger Goodell, Hardy was informed that an extensive two-month NFL investigation following the dismissal of his case in North Carolina state court determined that there was sufficient credible evidence that Hardy engaged in conduct that violated NFL policies in multiple respects and with aggravating circumstances.
The investigation was led by Lisa Friel and T&M Protection Resources. Prior to joining the NFL staff two weeks ago, Friel was vice president of the sexual misconduct consulting and investigations division of T&M. During a 28-year career as a Manhattan prosecutor, Friel was head of the sex crimes prosecution unit in the New York County district attorney’s office for more than a decade. Friel is now NFL senior vice president and special counsel for investigations.
The NFL’s investigation involved numerous interviews with witnesses and experts, a review of hundreds of pages of court records, documents and exhibits, photographs, police reports, medical records, and reports and opinions of medical experts retained by Hardy’s attorneys and by the NFL office.
Drafted by Carolina in 2010, Hardy had become a vital part of a defensive front seven that had become one of the best in the league by 2014. In the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Hardy averaged 60 tackles and 13 sacks, specializing in the pass rush. His intimidating presence and hard-hitting style earned him the nickname “the Kraken,” and cries of “release the Kraken” became a familiar refrain among Panthers fans.
In March, Hardy signed a one-year contract with Dallas, with a base pay of $11 million and was incentive-laden by the team as an insurance policy with the eventuality of this suspension looming.
Per a league source, Hardy will be appealing the suspension. As things stand, the first game he will be able to suit up for Dallas will be on Thanksgiving Day, against………..the Carolina Panthers.