The Carolina Panthers allowed star defensive end Greg Hardy to play in last week’s opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the Panthers have finally realized their mistake, especially in the midst of the domestic violence issues in the league today. Adrian Peterson was deactivated by the Minnesota Vikings today and wasn’t even allowed to travel with the team as an observer to watch them face the New England Patriots, as he was indicted in a child injury case. Hardy was found guilty, though he has appealed, of assaulting a female and definitely deserves to be punished under the league’s domestic violence policy.
Cat Crave
It had to have been a tough decision for Ron Rivera and the Panthers organization to make, but they’ve made the right one. The NFL Network’s Albert Breer reports that the Panthers are indeed listing Hardy as an inactive for today’s game against the Detroit Lions, and I’m sure plenty of people will be happy with the organization for doing this. Hardy will miss a big game against the Detroit Lions, but underrated backup DE Mario Addison is a more than capable replacement, with Kony Ealy potentially seeing some snaps.
The league’s crackdown against domestic violence is a welcome change, as they will finally take the “zero tolerance” policy seriously. The first step is more urgency from teams, and the Panthers rectified their mistake by making Hardy an inactive this week after allowing him to play in Week 1. PFT first reported that the Panthers could sit Hardy out, though some doubt was created when Breer tweeted earlier that he saw Hardy “in the building”.
Better late than never, and the Panthers should be commended for this decision, especially since Hardy is a key player who will miss a key game.