Apparently, “as soon as practicable” means “if you need five weeks, take five weeks . . . or more!”
The non-deadline deadline in Article 46 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, requiring a ruling on an appeal under the Personal Conduct Policy to be issued by the league’s designated hearing officer “as soon as practicable” has translated into 35 days and counting for Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy.
Hardy faces a 10-game suspension. The NFL Players Association believes that the punishment was imposed under the revised Personal Conduct Policy, even though the behavior at issue occurred under the old policy -- which ordinarily would have resulted in a two-game suspension at most for a domestic violence incident.
Harold Henderson devoted seven hours to the matter on May 27. To date, Henderson still hasn’t issued a decision.
The delay in the ruling necessarily shortens Hardy’s window for challenging the case in court. Which in turn increases the chances of Hardy seeking a preliminary injunction that allows him to play while the litigation proceeds. Which means that Hardy could be suiting up for Week One against the Giants.
A ruling could come at any time, including during the looming Fourth of July weekend bad-news dump. Then, the next guy up for an “as soon as practicable” ruling will be Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, whose appeal of a four-game suspension for #DeflateGate falls under the same provision of the CBA.