Hardy perfect example of turning blind eye
Jenny Vrentras is a good reporter, and a swell lady. I can say this because I’ve read her stuff for Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback, and I have had beers with her and others in New York one time. The place had arcade games.
Anyway, Jenny got famous this week, because she was behind Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as he talked about defensive end and all-around-bad-guy Greg Hardy on camera. Hardy, a once-convicted domestic abuser, had gotten into a sideline altercation with a coach, and slapped a clipboard out of his hand. Jones, asked about it, said:
“Of course, (Hardy is) one of the real leaders on this team and he earns it with respect from all of his teammates, and that’s the kind of thing that inspires. I don’t know if you watched him warm-up out there, but he was almost — he was inspiration in his method of warming up. He was ready to play and he was just getting the guys ready to play, in my view. I don’t have any issue with him being involved in motivating or pushing any part of the football team because he plays and walks the walk.”
And Jenny’s face scrunched and went blank and expressed skepticism, a touch of revulsion, a dollop of disbelief. She, in that moment, was us. Hardy’s time as a Cowboy has produced escalating derision: he’s missed practice only to have the Cowboys cover for him. He’s refused to answer questions from media. He made a rap video to respond to “the haters.” He’s said stupid things, and refused to apologize. He’s appeared to try to intimidate reporters.
And then, he put his hands on a special teams assistant coach who was trying to organize a play. It’s not going well. And ol’ Jerry, like a desperate rich man who knows he is mortal and is trying to find a cure for death, whistled past the graveyard, and supported his player. Well.
This is the logical end point of sports, or close enough. When Hardy was in Carolina he wrecked offensive lines, but was also found guilty by a judge of domestic assault for beating his girlfriend, threatening to shoot her, and throwing her down onto a futon covered with guns. He appealed to a jury trial, which you can do in North Carolina, and was acquitted when his girlfriend failed to appear. In the wake of Ray Rice, the NFL suspended him for 10 games, which was reduced to four. Carolina let him go. Dallas signed him. Greg Hardy may be a man who hits women and bullies people and doesn’t apologize. He may be a truly awful human.
But he’s the logical end point for how we treat sports. It’s an incentive system, see: the only real consequences for acting like this are public disapproval, and it seems like he can live with that.
He gets rich anyway. The Dallas Cowboys remain the most valuable sports franchise on Earth. His owner backs him up, and his team covers for him. He’s not the first, and not the last. Jerry Jones employed Michael Irvin, who allegedly stabbed a teammate in the neck with barber scissors once. Irvin’s on TV a lot now. Sports, like other forms of celebrity and a certain amount of money, allows you to get away with being awful.
Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask for more, of course. It’s just not a lot of us do. Last week, this space went 7-7. As always, all lines could change.
THE PICKS
N.Y. Giants (+3) at New Orleans
Defensive lineman Jason Pierre-Paul returned to the Giants this week after losing his right index finger and part of his thumb in an off-season fireworks accident. He said he wouldn’t shoot off fireworks anymore, but at least he was cheerful about it. Pick: New Orleans Tennessee (off the board) at Houston
Headline in the Wall Street Journal by Kevin Clark: NFL’s Quality of Play Hits Rock Bottom, No One Cares. Clark pointed out that there are a ton of penalties, a ton of injuries, shorter passes, crap offensive lines, etc. Also: that no one cares. Pick: Tennessee
Indianapolis (+7) at Carolina Former Colt and current Washington wide receiver Pierre Garcon filed a class-action lawsuit against the daily fantasy gaming site FanDuel for appropriating his image, and invited other players to join. FanDuel is a Washington team sponsor, too! Place your bets. Pick: Carolina
THE REST
Detroit (+3.5) at Kansas City Tampa Bay (+7.5) at Atlanta Arizona (-5.5) at Cleveland San Francisco (+8) at St. Louis Minnesota (-1) at Chicago San Diego (+3.5) at Baltimore Cincinnati (+1) at Pittsburgh N.Y. Jets (-3) at Oakland Seattle (-6) at Dallas Green Bay (-2.5) at Denver Byes: Buffalo, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Washington Last week: 7-7 Season: 53-48-3