Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy was found guilty last night on two counts of assault on a female and communicating threats at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.
It just felt like it was on the set of the Jerry Springer Show.
As compiled by Bill Voth of Black and Blue Review, the trial had more than a bit of a circus atmosphere, full of bizarre testimony that made both sides look bad.
Hardy’s accuser admitted to using cocaine the night of the attack, and when defense attorneys asked her about a previous car accident she was in in which police found marijuana on the scene, she replied: “The weed flew out of my car.”
And when defense attorneys asked Holder how she came through an assault from a player the size of Hardy “without breaking a fingernail,” she replied: “Uh, I did break a fingernail, a toenail.”
But she also described Hardy going into a jealous rage when he heard a song from Nelly in the nightclub they were in, since Holder had a brief affair with the rapper who is a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
As it pertains to the Panthers franchised-tagged defensive end, the details in court painted a picture of a bizarre up-and-down relationship, which included him taking Holder to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, only to surprise her by sending her back to Charlotte while he went to New York for the Super Bowl.
There were also allegations of the guns he kept in his home, with one witness saying “Oh my God, there’s so many guns,” when she walked into his apartment.
Then there was the bizarre exchange in which prosecutors asked him if he was drinking the night of the assault.
Prosecutor Jamie Adams: “You had alcohol.”
Hardy: “Champagne.”
Adams: “Is champagne alcohol?”
Hardy: “You tell me.”
Adams: “OK we’ll move on.”
While Hardy was found guilty, his lawyers said they’d appeal to a jury trial, which could drag out well beyond the coming season.
How much of that season he plays for the Panthers remains to be seen.