Greg Hardy’s still denying he did anything wrong.
And if you want to read some more of those quotes, Robert Klemko of SI.com has plenty of them in his latest feature on the former Panthers and Cowboys defensive end, regarding his arrest on domestic violence charges — charges which were dismissed after his accuser reached a civil settlement and failed to appear for a jury trial.
But if you’re sick of hearing Hardy’s attempts to play word games and reclaim his reputation, there’s a kernel of actual NFL news in the middle of Klemko’s look at Hardy’s burgeoning MMA career. (The story also includes an important discussion about the nature of second chances and the national response to domestic violence, and is worth a read.)
After the Cowboys got sick of his act, Hardy hasn’t found another team to give him a chance, though he claims he took two visits (his visit to the Jaguars in 2016 was documented).
“I went on a visit and the whole place loved me,” Hardy said. “I went to the owner and he was like, So you’re a wife-beater. You did it, so just tell me how you changed. I didn’t know where to go from there.”
If that owner read the quotes from Hardy in the latest piece, he’d be hard-pressed to come to a different conclusion. Hardy continues to conflate the case not being pursued with exoneration, as if the bruises on his accuser went away with the criminal prosecution.
“I don’t maintain my innocence,” Hardy said “The United States government maintains my innocence.”
Again, if you want to hear more of those kinds of answers, they’re at the link. Most people have heard enough of them.