Getty ImagesIn the wake of the Ray Rice video, calls have intensified for teams with players accused of domestic violence to take action. On Wednesday night, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson addressed criticism of his failure to suspend or terminate defensive end Greg Hardy.
While receiving the Echo Award Against Indifference, Richardson became choked up while discussing the Hardy situation.
“When it comes to domestic violence, my stance is not one of indifference,” Ricardson said, via Bill Voth of BlackAndBlueReview.com. “I stand firmly against domestic violence, plain and simple. To those who would suggest we’ve been too slow to act, I ask that you consider to not be too quick to judge. Over the course of our 20 years, we have worked extremely hard to build an organization with integrity and earn the trust of your community. I look forward to continuing to earn your trust and I thank you for this award.”
Richardson did not speak to reporters while leaving an event that Commissioner Roger Goodell had been scheduled to attend. Goodell changed his plans after the Associated Press dropped the latest bombshell in the Rice case.
The league’s new stance regarding domestic violence creates a delicate situation for the NFL and its team, a topic I plan to address in a separate item. For now, NFL teams will continue to look for ways to justify keeping star players accused of wrongdoing. Only the men at the bottom of the roster will find themselves on the outside looking in, if/when they get in trouble.
For Hardy, the Panthers have no real option. The Panthers will pay Hardy more than $13 million under the franchise tag for 2014. Once the season ends, there’s a good chance Hardy won’t be back. But the Panthers first have to get through the season, and they need Hardy if they hope to be successful.
#Boycott
The have no option? Why do you think that? Because they are paying him? So what? They pay plenty of players that ride the bench essentially all year.
#Nobodyhasitbetter
Right Mr. Richardson, wait until Hardy hires someone to shoot his pregnant girlfriend at a stop sign to act. He’s been convicted, what more do you need? An appeal all the way to the Supreme Court of the US?
In other professions people are suspended with pay all the time before due process. Greg hardy and Ray McDonald should be off the field. That being said the demise of the nfl isn’t happening. You don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. I’m a huge Seahawks fan and every Sunday since I can remember I wake up excited for the game. Punish the people who deserve to be punished but I won’t punish myself for the sins of others.
It’s absolutely incredible how people in positions of power and wealth can be so morally bankrupt at the expense of a win and a few extra dollars. Most of these owners do it, and it leaves you to wonder, is the money worth it.I mean I understand you can buy a lot of things with it and possibly do great things but mostly it becomes people’s downfall.
Just heard on ESPN that of the 85 players since 2000 to be arrested for domestic violence charges, only 11 have been “punished” under the NFL policies. Looks like it was open season on women for NFL players and pretty much condoned by the owners, NFL commish and executives. #horrible #nflshouldbeashamed
He’s still on the team. You still plan on doing nothing… unless a video comes out.
like Hardy choked his woman?
The punishment standard has been set: terminate the contract of the player and indefinite suspension. Anything else will invite major criticism.
Unrelated: double spaces in your typing?! This is not 1987.
They can’t release Hardy? Seriously?
Well, as long as the Panthers (NFL)success is more important than disciplining a guy who beats women.. umm, guess that’s ok, right Roger?
It takes a lifetime to earn trust and an instant to lose it. Keeping a felon that beats women on your roster to win an extra game or two is reprehensible.
Talk about bad timing in life…..
and Goodell was suppose to be there.
No doubt there folks burning the midnight oil at NFL HQ tonight.
Have to let the legal process play out. Otherwise, any money hungry girl can blackmail any athlete for money and make him pay… otherwise she’ll through out an assault accusation and know the player will pay because he would get suspended possibly for a year while the legal process plays out.
Gotta let the judicial system run it’s course. No one wants to lose their job based on a simple accusation.
Oh, well, if he choked up I guess it’s ok then. And here I thought maybe he was being hypocritical, but if he choked up…
What did hardy do? Link would be nice
Why can they not strike a deal with the NFLPA that when a player is convicted of DV that they are able to void the contract from the books even if they have to actually pay a portion or all of the actual money. Unless the team was involved in the crime or coverup they should be able to get out from under bad contracts for players in jail or convicted of heinous moral offenses
Translation… “We really need Greg Hardy this year. We will get rid of him at the end of the season which will correspond nicely with legal proceedings”. That’s the sad truth in a lot of this. Rice was on the decline last year and is expendable.
Hardy was just taking his work home with him.
He is choke up cause he lacks the strength to do the right thing.
Another guy getting awards because they are rich. They just throw some money at something and get awards for it.
I don’t know if I’d be bringing up the short history of the franchise to defend myself considering Freddie Lane (RIP) and Ray Carruth are two of the Panthers alumni in that short time period, lol.
Hardy not Kuechly is the reason the Panthers are a great defensive team. Not to mention, what are people complaining about? The facts of the case haven’t been made public yet other than mere hearsay. Let the cops do their due diligence then make a decision.
Why is Jerry Richardson getting this award?
All of you are the same.
Schefter said the deposition was pretty rough and I think it goes w/o saying that if there was video Hardy would experience the same fate as Rice.
Whatever it takes to win right Richardson? He’s no different then that clown in Santa Clara or that chump in Baltimore who lets Suggs play after his domestic abuses.
No real option? If they really cared about taking a stand, if it *really mattered*, they’d eat the season and cut him. And apologize to the fans, letting them know the principle is more important than one season.
I wouldn’t wait for the result of the appeal to suspend Hardy. He was found guilty by a judge which should be sufficient for a suspension. It’s not like he was just accused yesterday.
Perhaps the NFL should institute a rule where they can cut players who are arrested with taking a hit to the salary cap. I’m sure teams would move faster if they didn’t have to torpedo their pay structure to cut these turds.
Odds are Hardy is guilty. And he’s a coward for it. However, in America, you are innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, many players will be allowed to play while the judicial systems runs its course. I think the players should be allowed to play while their case is open, but if they are found guilty they have to refund all the money they earned playing while said case was open. That money will then be donated, on behalf of the NFL, to charities that help women who were abused by men.
So what if you suspend him now and then he actually does turn out innocent? That would look even worse. Let the man have his trial.
Actually Hardys actions were more egregious than Rices and included loaded assault weapons and continous verbal death threats. But hey they owe him money and need him to keep that front four up to par. And the fact that they try to knock the girls charactor because ahe admitted to doing cocaine is irrelevant. I dont care if she was drunk high and selling drugs…. You dont hit her. Football matters most…women’s safety is non existent in the NFL.
Really? He had no other options? Don’t make excuses for greedy cowards.
What a ridiculous witch hunt circus this has become. Somebody que the Benny Hill music.
The details from Hardy’s trial are far worse than what Rice did, for him to be on an NFL team and being defended by the owner and Rice banned from the league is ridiculous….wait until the details get out on that situation….
Unreal. Any other profession, you’d be either terminated or suspended.
These owners, Jerry R. Robert Kraft, John Mara and Jerry Jones are leading the brigade with Goodell as their lapdog. Morally bankrupt and greedy. Not a good linchpin for the NFL to be leading the way.
Rebuke these guys and fire Goodell already!!
Sounds like emotion of internal guilt. Wow, the owners within NFL may have ethics and morals.
If Hardy is found innocent, how many of these people calling for his head will own up to being wrong.
This is a case of a coked-up woman making a scene at Hardy’s apartment, to the point that he called 911 to get rid of her. She claims she was abused, but all she had was a bruise on her arm, that the guy with Hardy said he caused. There were no marks from being thrown on to a bed of guns, there were no marks on her neck, there wasn’t really a lot to go on other than a woman, who had to be removed by police, realized that she crossed the line and wasn’t going to have a rich football player as a boyfriend any more. So she claims abuse.
Yes, a judge declared that the case had merit to go to trial. That decision is a rubber stamp in the NC court system. All it means is that the woman will be allowed to pursue her claim in front of a jury, and Hardy will be able to defend himself. Florio got it right in his column the other day.
The trial will come in November, and it’s likely that Hardy will be found not guilty. And all the people who think he should be punished right now will have moved on to the next witch hunt, but will be sure to treat this as if he was guilty when they discuss him going forward anyway.
The presumption of innocence is a pretty important thing…
It has already been mentioned but it seems like some people choose to ignore the facts. Innocent until proven guilty is the way this country works. In Hardy’s case a judge has found enough evidence for it to go to trail but until the judicial process is complete Hardy has to be considered innocent. If Hardy is suspended now you open up the possibility for any corrupt woman to make a claim of DV just to get some money or to get payback on a player that dumped them. DV is horrible and if Hardy is guilty he should never play another day but until that time he is innocent.
Most interesting fact of Greg Hardy case is he called 911 and asked for the cops to come remove the lady from his apartment as he could not get her to leave. So far he has been found guilty by a female judge not a jury. Union contract probably protects Hardy until he is found guilty or some irrefutable piece of evidence (video) is found. Right now his case is he said she said.
You people who don’t follow the panthers are idiots when it comes to richardson and you haven’t been following hardy’s case since the beginning.
All you hear is DV and now you are hating on the entire panthers organization.
Richardson has ALWAYS conducted himself with integrity. No scandals like Irsay, Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, etc. He is a good man.
The league has told the team NOT to punish hardy until the legal system plays out. He hasn’t has his day in front of a jury trial yet and if he is found not guilty, then all this trash talk about the panthers and hardy will go away.
Same stuff different day. If you are good enough you can get away with it.
Btw, all the people claiming the judge “found him guilty” don’t actually know what they’re talking about. The judge finding him guilty in NC is the equivalent of a grand jury indicting Hardy and allowing this to proceed to trial. Actually, his case is pretty strong from the 911 call he made to there being little evidence of violence against the woman who is an admitted cokehead (now, choosing to keep that company is another matter for Hardy). So I hope all the people spouting off will get the facts right and also come back here to say they were wrong on this one when it gets thrown out as I expect when it goes to trial. It’s also what is bad about the new socalled domestic violence reactionary policy enacted, guys will simply get raked across the coals whether you actually have a victim or not.
If Hardy wasn’t a star player, then he’s be suspended. Bottom line. Additionally, it didn’t take the Patriots “waiting out the legal system” to cut the cord on Hernandez. This owner is accepting an award for being a humanitarian. If a judge, female or not, believes there’s enough evidence to move forward, then I really don’t believe that Hardy did nothing as some are saying. According to documents, the authorities responding felt there was merit to the abuse.
Say what you will about Greg Hardy, Jerry Richardson is the epitome of a southern Gentleman. Yes, he is a conservative white christian man which automatically makes him the target of the liberal media. We should all be so lucky to have someone just like Mr. Richardson in our lives. He is beloved by all who truly know him.