In the week since the website Deadspin released photos of the 2013 domestic violence incident involving Dallas Cowboy’s linebacker Greg Hardy, media columnists from coast to coast have reacted with appropriate disgust and bewilderment.
Both Hardy and the Cowboys have come under intense scrutiny, particularly given that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has praised Hardy for his leadership. The team has been rightfully criticized for employing a man capable of such violence.
But in the midst of this renewed conversation on domestic violence, it is important to remember that the media, sports organizations and the general public should not require horrific images of violence to take a strong stand against domestic abuse.
The photos document the injuries to Hardy’s former partner, Nicole Holder, directly after the incident occurred. In police reports and subsequent testimony, Hardy is said to have beaten Holder, thrown her onto a bed covered with assault weapons and made threats to her life. Predictably, these photos are horrendous. Holder appears utterly beaten, bruised from head to toe. They are sickening images.
Hardy, who on Nov. 11 briefly updated his Twitter profile to proclaim his innocence, was indeed cleared of these charges after a lengthy legal battle. Although Hardy was initially found guilty by a North Carolina judge, the charges were later dropped before the case was brought to a jury. Hardy and Holder reached a financial settlement out of court.
In a rare moment of appropriate judgment, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Hardy for 10 games, but an independent arbitrator reduced the suspension to four games (the same number of games Tom Brady was suspended for after allegedly deflating a few pigskins).
Without question, these photos raise questions regarding domestic violence in the NFL. The last calendar year has been one of the worst in NFL history, with star players such as Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson facing legal charges for domestic and child abuse, respectively.
The last year has also seen the gradual erosion of the league’s ability to address punishment internally; the reversal of the league’s suspension of Tom Brady in federal court is only the most recent botched suspension. As it pertains to domestic violence, over a dozen NFL players have been charged with domestic violence in the last two years, yet players such as Greg Hardy and Junior Gallete of the Washington football team remain in the league today.
But domestic violence by NFL players and league punishments are not, in fact, the real issue at hand. According to a review conducted by USA Today, NFL players are charged with domestic violence at a lower rate than the national average. Moreover, players are just as outraged as the general public. They rightfully take pride in the NFL shield and do not want abusers like Hardy to represent their organization. Many are upstanding men, and Hardy is not worthy of standing among their ranks.
Instead, the last week has brought a larger issue to light. It is sad and concerning that it takes photos such as these to evoke a necessary conversation on the very real issue of domestic violence.
Time and time again, men (or perhaps more appropriately, cowards) like Hardy hide behind thinly veiled defenses of abuse. From reminders that he was never convicted, to more callous statements that the assault never occurred, Greg Hardy has attempted to dupe the public into believing Holder was lying. As his employment by the Cowboys shows, we are all too often wiling to accept these excuses without question, rather than confront a horrifying truth.
The Cowboys have largely remained silent on signing Hardy this week, but we should not be fooled. Holder said she was abused, and this is what abuse looks like. Just as was the case with Ray Rice, controversy has greatly increased with the release of images showing the abuse. It shouldn’t take that.
When the Dallas Cowboys signed Hardy, the team rightfully received a fair amount of criticism. This criticism has exploded in the wake of the photos of Holder, but it should have been as great as it is today from day one. Yet cases such as Ray Rice’s assault on his fiancé (now wife) and Hardy’s attack on Holder show that we, the general public, seem to only react strongly when we see the horror.
The real question raised by the Deadspin photos is: why don’t we take a woman at her word, when we are all too willing to take the perpetrator at his?
In the sports world, some organizations have taken a stronger stand against domestic violence than the Cowboys. The organizations with whom Hardy was employed at the time of the incident, the Carolina Panthers, wisely terminated his contract. Unfortunately, the Panthers are not strangers to the horrors of domestic violence; former Panther Rae Carruth murdered his pregnant girlfriend while playing for the organization in 1999.
Here at ASU, football coach Todd Graham immediately suspended Davon Durant when he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend. In the legal system, Durant was innocent until proven guilty; Durant pleaded guilty in May of this year. But Graham sent a strong message through the immediate suspension: to him, a victim’s word is just as important as the feeble excuses of the perpetrator.
Sadly, Holder’s legal case against Hardy is likely over. But when the next battered woman seeks help — and there will be another — let us take a stronger stand against domestic violence.
Reach the columnist at clmurph5@asu.edu or follow @ConnorLMurphy on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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