The Carolina Panthers deactivated defensive end Greg Hardy, found guilty of domestic violence in July, ahead of Sunday’s National Football League home opener against Detroit as assault concerns grow league-wide.
The Panthers defeated Detroit 24-7 and Carolina coach Ron Rivera, who two days earlier defended his plans to start Hardy, said he had changed his mind.
“My rationale was because this was in the best interest of the Carolina Panthers,” Rivera said after the victory. “We had to do this. I did this and that’s it.”
Hardy played last week for Carolina despite a judge convicting him two months ago for assaulting his former girlfriend and threatening to kill her.
Hardy has appealed the ruling to a full jury trial that is set to start in November and has been playing as a result while the team and league let the legal system take its course.
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson broke down in tears during a ceremony in his honor last Thursday when he mentioned the issue of domestic violence, asking for patience from critics of the team.
“We had discussions. The organization had discussions,” Rivera said.
“This is a very difficult situation that the league is dealing with right now. Teams are dealing with this and we’re doing the best that we can.
“We’re not infallible. We make mistakes. The decision I made was based on all the information that I tried to get, the people that I talked with and going forward.”
NFL critics had pointed to Hardy playing as an example of how the league has ignored domestic assault during a week in which such issues have nagged star rushers Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson and tarnished the image of the world’s richest sports league.
TMZ released video last Monday of Rice knocking out his then-fiancee in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February, leading to Rice’s firing by the Baltimore Ravens and indefinite suspension by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Goodell came under fire and many have called for his firing or resignation in the wake of the handling of the Rice situation, which had only drawn a two-month ban from the NFL boss.
Last month Goodell admitted that was too soft a penalty and toughened NFL punishments for domestic violence to six games for first offenders and potential life bans for repeat offenders.
Just three days after Goodell’s action, San Francisco defensive end Ray McDonald was arrested and charged with assaulting his pregnant girlfriend.
Peterson, who was deactivated by the Vikings when charged Friday with reckless injury to a child, surrendered himself to Texas authorities early Saturday morning and was released on bail.
The charges stem from Peterson allegedly beating his son with a switch from a tree so harshly that cuts and scars remained days later.
Both Peterson and Hardy are paid even though they were deactivated for the game-day lineup.
– Hardy’s gun-filled couch –
According to a police report, Hardy assaulted ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder last May.
Holder said Hardy choked her with both hands around her throat and tossed her onto a couch covered with assault rifles and shotguns, saying Hardy told her all the weapons were loaded.
The Panthers have one of the best pass rushes in the NFL with Hardy, who has made 34 quarterback sacks in 63 career games with Carolina, but one of its worst when he is absent.
Hardy tied a team record last season with 15 quarterback sacks.
The Panthers made him a “franchise” player this season, ensuring he would remain with the team as one of the best-paid players in the league at his position, which means Carolina will pay him $13.1 million this season.