Real Reason Greg Hardy Is Unsigned Goes Deeper

Most people think they have the situation surrounding defensive end Greg Hardy and why he’s not on an NFL team pretty much figured out.

Allegations followed him out of Carolina that he physically abused his ex-girlfriend, resulting in police charges. Despite considerable evidence, he escaped conviction but in the eyes of almost everybody who followed the situation there was no doubt Hardy was guilty. That is why the Panthers refused to re-sign him and why it became difficult for him to find work last year until the Dallas Cowboys came calling.

Keep in mind Hardy is just 28-years old and had 15 sacks in 2013. He’s in his prime and played fairly well in Dallas despite the long layoff. Still it wasn’t his past transgressions that got him in trouble there but conflict with coaches and reports of not putting in the time and work, instead choosing to enjoy the Dallas nightlife.

Now Hardy is back on the street and his agent is doing everything possible to convince teams that his client deserves another chance. However, it’s not because of what he did in Carolina that teams are shying away this time. Dan Graziano of ESPN helped elaborate.

"“So what will it take at this point? What kind of internal hurdles will a team’s decision-makers have to clear in order to bring Hardy into the fold? Desperation is likely to drive the process, but it’s clear from talking to NFL coaches and executives the past few weeks that teams have concerns that go beyond public relations.“It’s not what happened in his past,” said one official whose team is not interested in Hardy. “It’s the way he reacted last year to everything that happened in his past that would concern me. If he’d been a model citizen and played at a high level, he’d still be in Dallas.”But neither of those things occurred, and so a Cowboys team whose best two edge rushers are starting the season on drug suspensions has no interest in bringing him back. That says a lot — especially to a league in which the Cowboys were the only team that seriously pursued him a year ago.”"

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His lack of repentance about what happened along with his behavior with the Cowboys all but sealed his fate. So far the only team to come even within sniffing distance of him were the Jacksonville Jaguars and they explained that was merely a “fact-finding mission” to get a feel for where he was at. Since then there has been zero activity.

Greg Hardy is the prime example of the new normal in the NFL. The days of not prying into the personal affairs of players are long gone. This league expects more from their athletes, not just sacks. They aren’t going to employ, advertise or pay men who don’t hold themselves to a higher standard of basic human decency. Until Hardy figures that out and begins to accept what he did was wrong, he won’t ever play another snap.

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