Greg Hardy is not Thomas Davis. Thomas Davis caused a room full of tough men to shake their head in agreement. They said amen. They could have passed an offering plate after Davis finished his speech for accepting the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. People were moved, not just by what Thomas Davis said, but because they could tell his words were from his heart, not from the pen of a publicist. Thomas Davis reminded the world of all the great men who play in the NFL. He inspired those great men, while also challenging them out.
Greg Hardy is not Thomas Davis. Greg Hardy, unfortunately, reminds us of the images of fame and money that make us feel like we need a shower.
Today, the case against Greg Hardy was officially dismissed. Dismissed does not mean innocent. As you really look, and think, about what has happened, innocence is the last word that would come to mind. The reality is nausea inducing. It's why middle class people are cynical. It's why conspiracy theory nut jobs think their phone is tapped. It causes us to doubt the goodness of humanity, and to question our society. At least it should.
I'm not going to recap the details of the story. I will do my best to summarize. Two morally questionable people got drunk and had a disagreement. They both acted poorly. The male, who was considerably stronger than the female, acted in an aggressive way toward the female. Cops were called. Eventually, a judge said that Greg Hardy was guilty of assault on a female and communicating threats. The law says that Hardy could appeal and have a trial before a jury. So we have been waiting for that.
The problem, at least for the prosecution, is that in order to have a trial, you have to have a witness. The woman that Hardy alledgedly assaulted, can't be found. We have no reason to suspect she has been harmed. We do have reason to suspect that she has been paid off to remain hidden, until the trial is officially over. There are reports that she has reached a civil settlement with Hardy. Translation: Hardy paid her to stay away until after the trial. The police staked out her residence. They went to her job. They talked to family. For months. Her lawyer will not comment on where she is.
And all this is legal. She can't be punished for not showing up at the trial because she could not be found to be given a notice. There won't be any significant punishment for hiding because she can claim ignorance. The pay off is legal, because it is connected to the threat of a civil suit. So the "victim" in this case gets paid, and more than likely has been on a vacation out of the country, paid for by Hardy, for the last several months. Hardy, who was found guilty by a judge, gets to claim innocence, avoid jail time and all other punishment and resume his NFL career. He's crazy talented so some team will give him a shot. It may take a year or two, but he will be back.
On a monday when most of the local sports radio shows are highlighting the incredible legacy of Dean Smith, this story is at the other end of the spectrum. As I drove around today I heard numerous people comment on Smith's life. Not one of them talked about basketball. Multiple people talked about the Coach's drive to always do what was right. No matter what.
Greg Hardy is not Thomas Davis. He is not Dean Smith. He is also not innocent. Neither are his lawyers, his ex-girlfriend, or any of the people in his life refusing to hold him accountable.
As Thomas Davis said in his acceptance speech "Let's dare to be different. Let's change this world". We, as humans, are better than this.
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