Hardy-one of the best pass rushers in the NFL-played the first game of the 2014 season with the Carolina Panthers despite his arrest but was deactivated when the uproar over Ray Rice’s domestic assault reached a fever pitch and he missed the rest of the season.
Advertisement
Hardy had reportedly thrown Nicole Holder, his girlfriend at the time, against a tile bathtub wall before throwing her on a futon and choking her. Now that photos have emerged of his assault on her, he is likely to receive even more disciplinary action from the NFL.
In addition to the photos that show bruises on Holder’s body, Deadspin also obtained the police interview she gave following the incident. The Charlotte Observer reported that according to Hardy’s lawyer, his domestic violence charges have been expunged from the record.
A league source told ESPN that Hardy didn’t demonstrate any remorse for the incident at any time during the NFL’s investigation, the suspension and appeal. By the end of the interview, Holder has described a fully fleshed-out dynamic between herself and Hardy, with Hardy’s behavior going as far as him allegedly showing up at her home uninvited to smell her pillows and towels (page 41) because he suspected her of cheating.
This may not look as bad as the video of Ray Rice knocking out his girlfriend, but it is.
Holder at first told officers she fell down the stairs, but they didn’t believe her. Eventually, she started to open up, but wasn’t willing to go on the record. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently praised Hardy as a “real leader”. Deadspin’s Diana Moskovitz wrote an article featuring new details and photos of Holder after the alleged assault (Warning: Link contains graphic, disturbing images and profanity) here. An officer had a supervisor listen to the 911 call and compare it to the story that Hardy told him, the two did not mesh. But trust me, this is the same upstanding guy who cleans up his assault weapons in an orderly fashion before police can arrive on the scene, who has come out guns a-blazing with the Cowboys, and gets teammates fired up at games. In March, Hardy signed a one-year contract worth up to $13.2 million with the Cowboys. His 10-game suspension was cut to four games by an arbitrator in July.
Advertisement
Hardy made ton deaf comments heading into the Patriots game about women and Tom Brady’s wife and now the Cowboys are in a public relations situation regarding the photos.
