Greg Hardy is a monster. You can take that in a few ways: He’s a monster in that he wreaks havoc on opposing offensive lines and QBs, or – in the way I meant – that he’s a monster because he was convicted of “assaulting a female and communicating threats,” before appealing and getting off on a technicality when his victim didn’t show up in court. Here’s a quick refresher on what Hardy did, per his accuser:

“On May 13, 2014, Greg Hardy attacked me in his apartment. Hardy picked me up and threw me into the tile tub area in his bathroom. I have bruises from head to toe, including my head, neck, back, shoulders arms, legs, elbow and feet. Hardy pulled me from the tub by my hair, screaming at me that he was going to kill me, break my arms and other threats that I completely believe. He drug me across the bathroom and out into the bedroom. Hardy choked me with both hands around my throat while I was lying on the floor. Hardy picked me up over his head and threw me onto a couch covered in assault rifles and/or shotguns. I landed on those weapons. Hardy bragged that all of those assault rifles were loaded. Landing on those weapons bruised [my] neck and back. Hardy screamed for his “administrative assistant” (Sammy Curtis) to come into the room and hold me down. Curtis came into the room, grabbed me from behind and held me down. Hardy and Curtis then took me into the living room area. I wasn’t nearly strong or fast enough to escape. I begged them to let me go & I wouldn’t tell anyone what he did. They took me out into the hall, pushed me down & went back inside his apartment. I crawled to the elevator and ran into CMPD (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department).”

For that “incident” (as people have been calling it, or “off-the-field issue”), Hardy was sentenced to 18 months probation, a wholly unsatisfactory sentence as is. Between Hardy filing his appeal and having the case dismissed, he fully participated with the Carolina Panthers until the fervor around the Ray Rice incident reached a fever-pitch, and the NFL was forced to step in and save whatever face it had left. For what it’s worth, that was very little.

Afterwards, the NFL suspended Hardy for 10 games this season (eventually knocked down to four) and handled the whole situation about as incompetently as it could. Hardy now plays for the Dallas Cowboys, where he made headlines again (for the second time this season) after shoving a special teams coach and refusing to address it later, coming off to the media like a spoiled child. Which he is.

After the incident, both Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones refused to punish him. Jones called him a “leader,” and went on the radio today to talk about extending his contract. The whole thing is an unholy mess. If the system were iron-clad, Hardy would be in jail. Instead, he’s making millions and nonsense headlines. It’s pretty easy, if you aren’t blinded by fandom, to pick a side here. Right?

Of course. I want to remind you what Stephen A. said during the whole Ray Rice “incident,” which earned him a suspension and caused him to walk back his comments so hard I’m surprised he still has ankles:

“… what I’ve tried to employ the female members of my family, some of who you all met and talked to and what have you, is that again, and this what, I’ve done this all my life, let’s make sure we don’t do anything to provoke wrong actions, because if I come, or somebody else come, whether it’s law enforcement officials, your brother or the fellas that you know, if we come after somebody has put their hands on you, it doesn’t negate the fact that they already put their hands on you. So let’s try to make sure that we can do our part in making sure that that doesn’t happen.”

I wonder, Stephen A., what Greg Hardy’s accuser did to “provoke wrong actions” like being “picked up” over his head and thrown “onto a couch covered in assault rifles.” Or to be thrown “into the tile tub area of the bathroom.” Or to be pulled by her hair, while Hardy screamed at her that he was going to kill her and break her arms and then choked her “with both hands around [her] throat.”

Sure, Smith’s comments are old and “outside of football,” but football doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Would I support an Eagles player, let’s use Vinny Curry (since they play similar positions), getting in the face of Dave Fipp after a disastrous kick-off coverage attempt? Maybe. Even if Curry knocked the clipboard out of Fipp’s hands and they had a little shove, I might poo poo it as “passion.” But that’s because, as far as I know, Vinny Curry isn’t an abusive asshole. As far as I know, Vinny Curry has never dragged a woman around the floor by her hair, threatened to kill her, and then refused to show any remorse in the dozens of opportunities he’s had since then. Football is just a game. It exists in the real world, and we have to take into account what kind of people we’re letting do whatever the hell they want.

Jerry Jones doesn’t care about domestic abuse victims, that much is obvious. I’d like to think Jason Garrett isn’t as bad, but he’s just Jerry’s puppet. Stephen A. Smith, again, has shown that he cares about a game – in this instance played by a despicable piece of human trash – more than victims of domestic abuse. I don’t care if he brings in viewers, or clicks, or starts “conversations.” ESPN just went through a whole bunch of layoffs. They might want to once-over that talent list again.