Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy reportedly is considering a legal challenge to his four-game suspension, which an arbitrator reduced from 10. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Hardy is waiting for a final recommendation from the NFL Players Association.
If Hardy proceeds, he’ll have a tough time getting anything other than the money he would have made if he had been suspended only two games, the amount he believes he should have been suspended under the Personal Conduct Policy at the time he violated it.
With the regular season only 10 days away, Hardy is only 18 days away from what would be the conclusion of a two-game suspension. If Hardy were going to push for a court order allowing him to be available for Week Three and Week Four, Hardy should have filed a lawsuit weeks ago.
Hardy could still file something now, but he won’t get a final ruling before Monday, September 21. He possibly could get a temporary injunction allowing him to play pending the resolution of the case, but the judge may not be thrilled with Hardy and the NFL Players Association rushing into court with a sudden sense of urgency with respect to a decision that was issued on July 10.
The bigger problem for Hardy and the NFLPA comes from the potential P.R. reaction to an effort to reduce his suspension from four games to two, after it already had been reduced from 10 games to four — especially since Hardy’s suspension flows from an act of domestic violence.
Most fans and plenty of media members would contend that Hardy should simply be happy with the reduction by six games and not fight to have his suspension reduced even more. Which could be why Hardy hasn’t already filed suit. And which could be why he ultimately won’t.