Going to add more on Greg Hardy because I can (but hot damn, he really needs his own thread by now):
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...riend-for-legal-woes-in-leaked-nfl-transcript
By John
Breech | CBSSports.com
November 11, 2015 9:58 pm ET
Before
Greg Hardy could be reinstated by the NFL back in March, he had to meet with Roger Goodell and convince the commissioner that he deserved a second chance.
Hardy missed 15 games in 2014 because he was on the exempt/commissioner's permission list, which meant he couldn't play, but he got paid. In order to get off the list, Hardy and his lawyer, Frank Maister, had to persuade Goodell that Hardy deserved to play.
Although the March 4 meeting took place behind closed doors, we now know what took place at the NFL's offices in New York, thanks to a transcript that
was obtained by Deadspin.
Greg Hardy says he didn't do anything wrong in May 2014. (USATSI)
In an effort to get reinstated, Hardy and his lawyer argued in front of NFL executives that Hardy didn't do anything wrong on the night he was arrested in May 2014, a night where he
was accused of throwing his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder, into a bathtub and dragging her by her hair from room to room.
Photo of Holder's injuries
were released by Deadspin last week.
Hardy had been facing domestic violence charges from the incident and he was convicted in a bench trial, with the verdict decided by a judge, last year; however, Hardy appealed the conviction and
the charges were dropped in February and the case was dismissed after Holder refused to cooperate with the district attorney.
In his meeting with the NFL, Hardy's lawyer argued three main points. First, he argued that Holder tripped and fell into the bathtub that Hardy was accused of throwing her in.
According to Maister's version of events, Holder "jumped into the bathtub or she flung herself into the tub."
Maister also argued that Holder's promiscuity played a part in the incident. According to Hardy's attorney, Holder would email Hardy regularly so the two could meet up for sex. However, on the night of the incident, Hardy turned her down and at that point, Holder got "physically abusive," according to Maister.
Maister also alleges that Holder asked Hardy, "How about if I kill myself? Would that make you happy if I kill myself?"
After those two questions were asked is when Holder allegedly went "berzerk" and went into the bathroom and "flung herself into the tub."
Maister also said that the only reason Hardy was convicted of assault by a trial judge in North Carolina is because the Mecklenburg district judge who tried his case had it out for Hardy because she once co-chaired a battered women's advocacy project.
Although Hardy was found guilty in court in front of that judge, North Carolina law allowed him to appeal and potentially face a trial in front of jurors, which didn't happen because the charges were dropped.
About six weeks after the March 4 hearing with the NFL, Hardy was reinstated, but then immediately hit with
a 10-game suspension, which was reduced to four games
after Hardy appealed.
Hardy clearly believes the above version of events. The
Cowboys defensive end even proclaimed that he's "innocent until proven guilty" on
his Twitter profile Wednesday, although Cowboys coach Jason Garrett would later make him change the profile.
Before the change was made, Hardy's profile said, "Innocent until proven guilty -- lack of knowledge & information is just ignorance -- the unjust/prejudicial of diff categories is discrimination."
