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Moore: Here's suspension you can expect Roger Goodell to impose on Greg Hardy ... and why
By DAVID MOORE
Staff Writer
Published: 08 April 2015 08:40 PM
Updated: 09 April 2015 09:04 AM
Before the month is done, Roger Goodell should announce the length of Greg Hardy’s suspension.
The NFL commissioner knows his ruling is unlikely to end the matter. So do the Cowboys.
What public perception demands and league policy allows clash in this case. Expect an appeal of Goodell’s decision on the Cowboys defensive end that will extend this already unsavory episode in jurisprudence.
Here are the facts: eight months ago, the NFL owners approved an alteration to the personal conduct policy that imposes a six-game suspension on a first offense for domestic violence and a lifetime ban for a second offense. The action was taken in the wake of the league’s bungling of the Ray Rice case.
The former Baltimore running back was handed a two-game suspension by Goodell in July - less than penalties the NFL levies for substance abuse and DUI - for assaulting his then-fiancee in an elevator.
“At times, however, and despite our best efforts, we fall short of our goals,” Goodell wrote in a letter to NFL personnel in August. “We clearly did so in response to a recent incident of domestic violence.
“My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families. I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values.
“I didn’t get it right.’’
It sounds sincere. But here’s the catch. The policy the league put in place isn’t retroactive.
Hardy was arrested May 13, 2014 when an argument between he and his girlfriend at the time resulted in both parties placing calls to 911. That’s three months before the new standard went into effect.
The defensive end’s status is further complicated by how his case worked its way through the North Carolina legal system.
A judge found Hardy guilty in July and gave him 18 months probation after suspending a 60-day jail sentence. He was guilty when the new policy went into effect.
Hardy and his attorney appealed, asking for a jury trial in a superior court. Charges were dismissed earlier this year when prosecutors were unable to locate the accuser, Nicole Holder, who failed to appear in court. Now, he’s not guilty in the eyes of the law.
It’s a lot to sort through. But the date those 911 calls took place are not in dispute and is key.
Remember, Rice was given a two-game suspension by Goodell before the Ravens responded by terminating his contract. Anything more than a two-game suspension for Hardy and his representatives and the NFL Players Association are certain to appeal.
Goodell admits he got it wrong with Rice. His integrity has been questioned publicly. There have been repeated calls outside of the NFL for his resignation.
Public scrutiny and ridicule impacts decisions. This will be the commissioner’s first ruling involving a case of domestic violence since Rice. He will be under intense pressure to prove he now understands the severity of this issue.
Can Goodell hand Hardy a two-game suspension and argue precedent gave him no choice? Can he say he desperately wanted to impose a six-game suspension and blame a policy that is not retroactive for refusing to give him that option?
Sure. But how will that play in the court of public opinion? Why would Goodell subject himself and his office to the ensuing firestorm, especially since Hardy had no money taken out of his pocket by the league last season as he sat on the commissioner’s exempt list?
Goodell can decide on a suspension that falls somewhere between two and six games, but that’s a compromise that makes no one happy and still leaves the commissioner looking weak on this issue.
Goodell has only one play to appease a skeptical public. That’s to impose a six-game suspension knowing it will be appealed.
If it’s lessened or overturned, so be it. It’s better for the commissioner’s office and the sport to take a stand and have others come across as soft or insensitive to the issue of domestic violence.
Will Goodell get it right with Greg Hardy?
You can argue the only way to do so is to get it wrong with the length of the suspension.
By DAVID MOORE
Staff Writer
Published: 08 April 2015 08:40 PM
Updated: 09 April 2015 09:04 AM
Before the month is done, Roger Goodell should announce the length of Greg Hardy’s suspension.
The NFL commissioner knows his ruling is unlikely to end the matter. So do the Cowboys.
What public perception demands and league policy allows clash in this case. Expect an appeal of Goodell’s decision on the Cowboys defensive end that will extend this already unsavory episode in jurisprudence.
Here are the facts: eight months ago, the NFL owners approved an alteration to the personal conduct policy that imposes a six-game suspension on a first offense for domestic violence and a lifetime ban for a second offense. The action was taken in the wake of the league’s bungling of the Ray Rice case.
The former Baltimore running back was handed a two-game suspension by Goodell in July - less than penalties the NFL levies for substance abuse and DUI - for assaulting his then-fiancee in an elevator.
“At times, however, and despite our best efforts, we fall short of our goals,” Goodell wrote in a letter to NFL personnel in August. “We clearly did so in response to a recent incident of domestic violence.
“My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families. I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values.
“I didn’t get it right.’’
It sounds sincere. But here’s the catch. The policy the league put in place isn’t retroactive.
Hardy was arrested May 13, 2014 when an argument between he and his girlfriend at the time resulted in both parties placing calls to 911. That’s three months before the new standard went into effect.
The defensive end’s status is further complicated by how his case worked its way through the North Carolina legal system.
A judge found Hardy guilty in July and gave him 18 months probation after suspending a 60-day jail sentence. He was guilty when the new policy went into effect.
Hardy and his attorney appealed, asking for a jury trial in a superior court. Charges were dismissed earlier this year when prosecutors were unable to locate the accuser, Nicole Holder, who failed to appear in court. Now, he’s not guilty in the eyes of the law.
It’s a lot to sort through. But the date those 911 calls took place are not in dispute and is key.
Remember, Rice was given a two-game suspension by Goodell before the Ravens responded by terminating his contract. Anything more than a two-game suspension for Hardy and his representatives and the NFL Players Association are certain to appeal.
Goodell admits he got it wrong with Rice. His integrity has been questioned publicly. There have been repeated calls outside of the NFL for his resignation.
Public scrutiny and ridicule impacts decisions. This will be the commissioner’s first ruling involving a case of domestic violence since Rice. He will be under intense pressure to prove he now understands the severity of this issue.
Can Goodell hand Hardy a two-game suspension and argue precedent gave him no choice? Can he say he desperately wanted to impose a six-game suspension and blame a policy that is not retroactive for refusing to give him that option?
Sure. But how will that play in the court of public opinion? Why would Goodell subject himself and his office to the ensuing firestorm, especially since Hardy had no money taken out of his pocket by the league last season as he sat on the commissioner’s exempt list?
Goodell can decide on a suspension that falls somewhere between two and six games, but that’s a compromise that makes no one happy and still leaves the commissioner looking weak on this issue.
Goodell has only one play to appease a skeptical public. That’s to impose a six-game suspension knowing it will be appealed.
If it’s lessened or overturned, so be it. It’s better for the commissioner’s office and the sport to take a stand and have others come across as soft or insensitive to the issue of domestic violence.
Will Goodell get it right with Greg Hardy?
You can argue the only way to do so is to get it wrong with the length of the suspension.
