Dallas Cowboys: Defending The Greg Hardy Signing

Oct 11, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is honored along with his teammates from the 1964 team prior to the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL is a popular television show, just like many others. People are drawn by the millions to one of 32 franchises around the country each and every year with little or any regard whatsoever for the personal behavior of the players.

If you were to investigate and tally the number of arrests made of just current NFL players, your eyes would probably pop. I would have to write a book just to chronicle all of them but feel free to do your own research.

So, if you want to make a stand against Hardy, Miller or any other player who’s been involved with legal problems, go right ahead. It’s your right to do so and I even encourage it. But when the very victims of some of these alleged offenses are willing to back out of the case for the sake of the almighty dollar, it doesn’t lead me to believe that the viewing public is prepared to pass on football altogether for any reason, to be honest.

Opting not to buy a player’s jersey is one thing, but canceling the football package offered by your satellite television provider?

Hanson eluded to the following phrase during his rant on TV this week when referring to the NFL:

"“This isn’t the Boy Scouts, this is professional football.”"

This is the truth, and until the average guy becomes able to play this game, don’t expect merit badges and camp fire songs. The game of football is played by a nearly invisible fraction of the United States population – that’s in the college ranks, mind you.

Football is by far the most violent team sport in the world, which is also backed by billions of your collective dollars.

Some are surprised by the fact that money and violence end up off the field from time to time?

In closing, I’ll simply leave you with two hypothetical scenarios, and you decide which you prefer.

First, quarterback Tony Romo is sacked by Hardy as a member of the back-to-back defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks next January in the NFC title game late in the fourth quarter.

Second, Hardy sacks Seahawks passer Russell Wilson in the same game and at the same time in the contest.

Yes, the Seahawks were on that short list of teams that were willing to give Hardy a shot at playing next year – possibly even those same 49ers, depending on who you choose to believe.

Decide for yourself whether or not Jones did the right thing or not. But remember that this case was dropped and we’re simply talking about a TV show at the end of the day. Should the Cowboys enter the playoffs next season with another record of 12-4, we might have gone from this discussion to how exactly the Cowboys can squeeze both Hardy and wide receiver Dez Bryant under the salary cap with long-term extensions.

Defending what Hardy might have, or likely, did to his ex-girlfriend is impossible.

Defending his signing is actually quite easy – it’s simply the status quo in the NFL.

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