Greg Hardy: (Suspension) May Take NFL To Court

And even though that initial reduction still has to be considered a huge win for Hardy and the Dallas Cowboys, the fact remains that both Goodell and the arbitrator magically pulled a random number out of the air to use when it came time to punish the never officially found guilty defensive end.

His other choice is to accept the four-game suspension and return in Week 5, when the Cowboys take on Brady and the Patriots.

However, the ruling in Brady’s case – which had no precedent – can not be directly compared to Hardy’s situation, since he’s dealing with a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The Cowboys defensive end was initially convicted of domestic abuse in 2014, but that conviction was later overturned on appeal when the alleged victim did not show up to court.

He missed the final 15 regular-season games and the National Football League playoffs last season, spending most of that time on the Exempt/Commissioner’s List, while with the Panthers. If Hardy were going to push for a court order allowing him to be available for Week Three and Week Four, Hardy should have filed a lawsuit weeks ago.

The bigger problem for Hardy and the NFLPA comes from the potential P.R. reaction to an effort to reduce his suspension from four games to two, after it already had been reduced from 10 games to four – especially since Hardy’s suspension flows from an act of domestic violence.

From a legal perspective, it seems unlikely Hardy’s case will be affected by the Brady ruling. An appeal would likely just delay his inevitable suspension, though it is possible a judge rules Hardy’s suspension should be reduced rather than eliminated altogether.