Commissioner Hairbrain Is Stuck in Mess of Own Making

[Guiness]

I really don't see how Tom Brady and Greg Hardy could possibly serve the same suspension. That ultimately is the massive roadblock weighing on the mind of Goodell. I think Goodell wants to maintain the 4 games on Brady, because he looks like a major buffoon otherwise...but the reduction to Hardy's suspension is going to make people go absolutely nuts if they both have the same length when this is all said and done.

The league/commissioner wouldn't have this problem if they took a reasonable stance on being on the commissioner's special list as being 'time served'. Then they could say Hardy already served 15 games and is getting 4 more.

[Rastak]

The league/commissioner wouldn't have this problem if they took a reasonable stance on being on the commissioner's special list as being 'time served'. Then they could say Hardy already served 15 games and is getting 4 more.

Don't even get me started. That list that was created in the 70's but never used for this purpose until Adolph Godell decided it was a punishment free "make it go away" zone. Call it what it fucking is, you are suspended with pay. In most businesses that is indeed a free vacation. But in this business you have a limited shelf life so you have to be producing and putting it on tape all the time or your dollars tangibly start drying up. It is absolutely a punishment. What is the saying? Fines don't matter, when you take away playing time you get their attention.

[pbmax]

Don't even get me started. That list that was created in the 70's but never used for this purpose until Adolph Godell decided it was a punishment free "make it go away" zone. Call it what it fucking is, you are suspended with pay. In most businesses that is indeed a free vacation. But in this business you have a limited shelf life so you have to be producing and putting it on tape all the time or your dollars tangibly start drying up. It is absolutely a punishment. What is the saying? Fines don't matter, when you take away playing time you get their attention.

And it was amateur hour when the NFLPA didn't get a guarantee that the list would count as time served when they agreed to the new use of it in the first place.

[Rastak]

And it was amateur hour when the NFLPA didn't get a guarantee that the list would count as time served when they agreed to the new use of it in the first place.

Hey PB, when was it even discussed with the NFLPA? You might be referring to back channel discussions when then the Peterson thing hit. If so, the NFLPA fucked it up bad.

[pbmax]

Hey PB, when was it even discussed with the NFLPA? You might be referring to back channel discussions when then the Peterson thing hit. If so, the NFLPA fucked it up bad.

I know they were involved in the discussions. Whether they could have stopped it or not, I am unsure. But the issue was not raised by them at the time that I remember.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...circumstances/

[Rastak]

Look, I'm not a big fan of what Greg Hardy did but to put that dude on a 16 game paid suspension while they fucked around? I mean, really? NFL needs to figure this shit out for good.

[King Friday]

Don't even get me started. That list that was created in the 70's but never used for this purpose until Adolph Godell decided it was a punishment free "make it go away" zone. Call it what it fucking is, you are suspended with pay. In most businesses that is indeed a free vacation. But in this business you have a limited shelf life so you have to be producing and putting it on tape all the time or your dollars tangibly start drying up. It is absolutely a punishment. What is the saying? Fines don't matter, when you take away playing time you get their attention.

To someone like Hardy, it isn't a punishment though...more of an inconvenience only. Despite all the time off and the threat of a significant suspension hanging over him, he STILL signed a 1 year, $11-13M deal. He's probably laughing about how he smacks women around and gets away with it. It is a joke. God forbid you get involved in dog fighting...expect prison time and years out of the league. Smack a woman with a hand that is rightfully a deadly weapon...and the league simply hopes to give you a free vacation long enough for the whole deal to "blow over".

[pbmax]

To someone like Hardy, it isn't a punishment though...more of an inconvenience only. Despite all the time off and the threat of a significant suspension hanging over him, he STILL signed a 1 year, $11-13M deal. He's probably laughing about how he smacks women around and gets away with it. It is a joke. God forbid you get involved in dog fighting...expect prison time and years out of the league. Smack a woman with a hand that is rightfully a deadly weapon...and the league simply hopes to give you a free vacation long enough for the whole deal to "blow over".

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/inc...e10422650.html

Without the a conviction (the jury trial he requested caused the charges to be dismissed) you are left with transcripts prepared by the defense and her original statement to police, which the article hints might have contained discrepancies.

So even if the testimony was the complete truth, the extreme nature of his attack cannot be accepted at face value based on available evidence. The NFL is left with a player who has embarrassed them and his team, got into an altercation with a women serious enough for the police to be called. But its unclear any suspension based the specific details of the night would stand. Hardy might still be contesting this in Court.

What I don't remember is whether there was physical evidence. Did she need to be treated for injuries?

[King Friday]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/inc...e10422650.htmlWhat I don't remember is whether there was physical evidence. Did she need to be treated for injuries?

There are PHOTOGRAPHS Max. The woman herself gave an account UNDER OATH. A district attorney got to see all of the evidence, and saw fit to bring charges of domestic violence. A judge CONVICTED him of the crime. Clearly, there is a significant amount of "evidence" pointing to the fact that Greg Hardy is a thug...just not enough to move forward with if the accuser is paid off and conveniently goes missing.

Seriously Max...this is way more than just something serious enough for "the police to be called". So was the Ray Rice incident. Both times, the NFL barely levied ANY punishment on the offenders despite knowing full well what happened (for the most part) in both cases.

[pbmax]

There are PHOTOGRAPHS Max. The woman herself gave an account UNDER OATH. A district attorney got to see all of the evidence, and saw fit to bring charges of domestic violence. A judge CONVICTED him of the crime. Clearly, there is a significant amount of "evidence" pointing to the fact that Greg Hardy is a thug...just not enough to move forward with if the accuser is paid off and conveniently goes missing.

Seriously Max...this is way more than just something serious enough for "the police to be called". So was the Ray Rice incident. Both times, the NFL barely levied ANY punishment on the offenders despite knowing full well what happened (for the most part) in both cases.

I am not making the case that the NFL has responded correctly to either Rice or Hardy. But both happened before the revised policy was issued. But the Rice case had video of the punch.

Second, if there are photographs, I have not seen them. Thought I made that plain. A link would be helpful. Did she require treatment for injuries as well?

Lastly, the police were called, she did give a statement and she testified at the trial by judge. But there are signs that there may be inconsistencies between the two accounts and she is not willing to help. This doesn't mean that Hardy is suddenly wonderful, but there is not enough that the prosecutors feel they can win a new trial with a jury. The best the NFL could have done under the old policy was something was 2 games. They got four plus the exempt list season. For a bad policy to produce anything close to that is a muted win.

Its possible even that won't stand in court. But no player or team employee can see that as a victory for the abuser and a free hand.

[Guiness]

To someone like Hardy, it isn't a punishment though...more of an inconvenience only. Despite all the time off and the threat of a significant suspension hanging over him, he STILL signed a 1 year, $11-13M deal. He's probably laughing about how he smacks women around and gets away with it. It is a joke. God forbid you get involved in dog fighting...expect prison time and years out of the league. Smack a woman with a hand that is rightfully a deadly weapon...and the league simply hopes to give you a free vacation long enough for the whole deal to "blow over".

Considering the criminal charges didn't stick, the NFL was pushing things suspending him as long as they did. The charges were dropped, weren't they? I know it was a pretty fishy outcome in the courts, but that was the outcome.

How did the league sort it out with the teams re: cap space? I know the players get paid, but in the cases of Peterson and Hardy, do the teams end up with franchise tag level dead money against their cap?

[King Friday]

Considering the criminal charges didn't stick, the NFL was pushing things suspending him as long as they did. The charges were dropped, weren't they? I know it was a pretty fishy outcome in the courts, but that was the outcome.

Charges were dropped because Hardy paid off the person he violently abused. Without someone willing to bring up charges of abuse, you can't possibly bring someone to trial in a court...unless the evidence is overwhelming and irrefutable.

However, the NFL is a business entity...not a courtroom. Subway fired Jared Fogle VERY quickly at the first sign of trouble with kiddie porn, when there is no guarantee he will ever be brought up on any charges in a courtroom. Granted, you have the NFLPA to deal with in the NFL's case...but ultimately I don't think they really want to be standing up for a woman beater either. Like with the Vick saga...it would be easy for the NFL to get public opinion on their side and roll right over the NFLPA if they really wanted to. However, it is clear that Goodell doesn't give a shit about women...only deflated footballs.

We all know what Greg Hardy did. Period. The NFL should take a stand and kick him out of the league for good. Otherwise, women will just keep getting beat up by NFL players, NCAA players, whoever...because they just keep getting away with it and only receive minor inconveniences as a result.