3:27pm: Adam Schefter of ESPN.com and Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links) now each have a source saying that the decision has officially been made, with Hardy heading to the exempt/commissioner’s permission list. Like Peterson, Hardy will be on leave with pay until his legal proceedings have been resolved.
1:33pm: A source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link) that Hardy has not yet agreed to be placed on the exempt list. I would guess that information is coming from the defensive end’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, so perhaps all the involved parties are still working something out.
1:25pm: Hardy has agreed to go on the exempt/commissioner’s permission list, reports Cole (via Twitter). According to Person (via Twitter), the Panthers and the NFL discussed several possible options for Hardy, but it appears they landed on the same solution that the Vikings did for Peterson. While there has been no official announcement yet on Hardy, he’ll likely remain on the exempt list until his legal process plays out.
9:39am: The Panthers took a cue from the Vikings last week, deactivating Greg Hardy for Sunday’s game after the Vikings did the same thing for Adrian Peterson. And now, it appears Carolina will follow Minnesota’s lead once again. According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), the Panthers are meeting with Hardy this morning and are expected to soon put him on the same exempt/commissioner’s permission list on which Peterson was placed.
Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer confirms (via Twitter) that the Panthers are in discussions with the league about placing Hardy on that exempt list. Of course, it’s worth noting that Hardy himself would have to accept the decision. The NFLPA issued a statement this morning classifying Peterson’s move to the exempt list as the running back taking “voluntarily leave” to take care of his personal and legal issues.
There’s some incentive for all involved parties to opt for this route. From the player’s perspective, he’ll still receive his full salary while he’s on the exempt list, which is preferable to being suspended without pay. From the league’s and teams’ perspectives, it allows them to remove the player from the field and the public spotlight immediately, while postponing further discipline until after the legal process plays out.
I’d be down with the NFL suspending any offender of an any crime 2 games under the personal conduct policy, and then applying that suspenison to the 6 games if found guilty or the league believes with the evidence they did it. But this will he, won’t he takes away from the actual issue of domestic abuse. And in the case of Greg Hardy the Panthers still have to pay him on the restricted list or if they cut him so why shouldn’t they play their best players costing almost $14Mil this season?
Lets stick to the bringing awareness to domestic violence and not punish teams for having these players while going through the legal process. With the NFL suspending them, it takes their salaries off the books for the weeks they are out. The teams are in a tough spot of balancing talent, fans, and their budget and it is impossible to make a decision to benifit all 3 in these cases.