Greg Hardy

   Yesterday the big story around Dallas was Greg Hardy, and the incident that took place during Sunday's game. Sometimes I like to wait a while and take in all the other reactions and view points before I express mine. Personally I was not raised a Dallas Cowboy fan. I have only lived in Dallas for 7 years, and for some reason the Mavericks and the Rangers were so much easier to adopt than the Cowboys. Maybe because they were winning! But I still like to follow the Cowboys because it is fun when the city is excited about their teams. But I think many people are missing the point on the Greg Hardy incident.  
   When Dallas first signed Greg Hardy I wasn't too happy with the signing. To me it wasn't something I could get behind, root for, or be proud of. Just because the guy can rush the quarterback doesn't change the fact that he abuses women. But I think many, definitely not all, fans were blinded and were willing to make that sacrifice for the sake of winning. At least we know Jerry Jones is. But our mayor Mike Rawlings has taken a huge stance against domestic abuse, holding rallies, using celebrity spokesmen, the movement has been coined "Take The Pledge". You can check out Dallas Men Against Abuse here. It has been a really great thing for our city. To me the Greg Hardy signing was almost a slap in the face to these efforts. What does it say? Dallas men are against abuse unless it helps us win another Super Bowl? If so our priorities are way off. I am all for second chances in life, but if you have watched the actions and attitude of Greg Hardy, this guy hasn't changed, he's not sorry. Sunday was a perfect example of that.
  What is even more disturbing is yesterday I turned on 1310 The Ticket to hear some local reactions. I'm not a regular listener but once in a while I will turn it on to hear what people are saying. I did this when the Cowboys first signed Hardy. Which those reactions were pretty unbelievable. Excuses like "If we kicked out every guy that has been accused of domestic violence in the NFL, we wouldn't have any athletes on the field." First, I thought the stereotype was rather startling, but also the fact that it simply isn't true. The Carolina Panthers this year are undefeated so far, without Hardy. How many Super Bowl MVPs can you name that have been convicted of domestic violence? Yea me neither. It's not true, but even if it was it's not worth it. What game do we have if we are willing to sacrifice our women for the sake of a good athlete? I'm the father of two girls, maybe I have a different view than some. But Greg Hardy is not a role model. Would you want your son to wear his jersey? What kind of message is that? When you go to the games, watch the games, or buy Cowboys memorabilia you are essentially paying his salary. But yesterday I turned on the ticket again, and what a joke... They described the incident on Sunday as "Passion" and "didn't have a problem with it". Jerry Jones in an interview even called it "inspirational" and "inspiring". We are missing the whole point, Sunday's incident when Greg Hardy pushed the special teams coordinator and smacked his clip board out of his hand is a picture of this guy's persona. It is an example of his inability to control his emotions and even worse when that happens he resorts to violence. Just like he did with his girlfriend.
   And it was on national TV for all of us to see. And the Cowboys are handing down no punishment, no response. I guess they think that resorting to violence is ok and tolerated. It should never be tolerated, on a 2-4 team or a Super Bowl winning team. It simply is not worth it. Jerry, release Hardy.