ESPN's Michelle Beadle yesterday was critical of the net's recent interview with free agent DE Greg Hardy, saying, "I hate that we're even going to give this guy any more time." Beadle on "SportsNation" said, "I feel dirty in that this guy has no job right now, and for some reason we’ve decided as a network that we're going to give him the stage for his redemption tour as he basically goes out and tries to find some employment. I don't understand why we’re doing that." Hardy in the interview said he has never put a hand on a woman despite his role in a '14 domestic violence case. Beadle said, "If he wants to figure out a way to get his message out there -- which, by the way, he hasn't said he did anything wrong, so how a man is supposed to convince anybody he's changed and yet not admit to actually doing anything, I have no idea. But why we're giving him the forum to go out there and tell anybody that is where I'm a little bit confused” (“SportsNation,” ESPNews, 4/5).
QUESTIONABLE CALL: In DC, Nick Martin noted Beadle's criticism was "shared by many via social media" yesterday, as displeasure was "directed at the company that allowed Hardy the platform." The decision by ESPN to "give Hardy an opportunity to declare his innocence rang hollow to many" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 4/5). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote ESPN "knew what it was getting itself into, and the fact that Hardy came off as poorly as he did makes ESPN look bad for the attempt to prop him up" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 4/5). Florio said, "I wonder whether ESPN went into this thinking, ‘Okay, this is like the Ray Rice cleanse-the-palate, get everyone to feel like maybe this is a good guy, maybe he should get another job in the NFL.’ Or did somebody from ESPN think, ‘You know, this is going to be a trainwreck and it is better to be part of it because then we can fill up our network and various networks with content over the next several days’” ("PFT," NBCSN, 4/5).
DANGEROUS PATH: VICE SPORTS' Sean Newell wrote ESPN's hype machine is "kicking into gear again after Adam Schefter's ridiculous interview with Greg Hardy, and that's dangerous." The net "teased the interview" Monday in a press release and later in a "brief segment on NFL Live on Tuesday." It aired in full yesterday, then Adam Schefter, who conducted the interview appeared on "numerous outlets to discuss" the interview. Hardy did not say "anything different than he has in the past" but what ESPN, Schefter, and Hardy have done is "something akin to historical fiction." Newell: "They have manufactured an entire news story based in fact ... but those facts simply provide the backdrop to the real story. And the real story isn't even a story, it's just a bunch of chuckleheads debating what it all means." He added, "It's hard enough to be a survivor of domestic violence and abuse without having the full weight of the Worldwide Leader in Sports crafting a redemption story out of thin air for an abuser. ... This is why ESPN is venturing into dangerous territory. Even though part of the fallout of the Ray Rice case was supposed to serve as a sort of teachable moment for the league, its players, and everyone else paying attention, we still find ourselves incapable of having a responsible discussion about domestic violence. Here, Greg Hardy got to go on TV and say he didn't do anything wrong in the most unspecific way imaginable" (SPORTS.VICE.com, 4/5).
NO REGRETS: Schefter yesterday on "The Dan Patrick Show" said he found Hardy "to be a changed kind of guy." Schefter said, "I went in with the idea that this guy is a monster; I came out of there with a very different feeling" ("The Dan Patrick Show," 4/5). Schefter this morning clarified those comments, saying, "We've all seen the persona of Greg Hardy on the sidelines and in games. That’s what I expected. I should have been more precise in how I described it. That was a mistake on my part. I regret not making that more clear, but I’ve no regrets about the interview or the questions we asked. We went at him.” Schefter disagreed with the idea the interview was a favor to Hardy’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus. He said, "I think Drew Rosenhaus has much, much better friends in media than me, that’s No. 1.” Schefter said he felt like Rosenhaus “believed he had nothing to lose at this point in time" by putting Hardy on ESPN. Free agency began last month, and Hardy has "not gotten much interest a month in, so he might as well see that he can address teams." Schefter: "If Greg Hardy wants teams to see him, that’s fine. My job was, I felt, was to go in there and ask fair, professional, tough questions and I feel pretty comfortable that if you watch the interview that was the case” (“The Dennis & Callahan Morning Show,” WEEI-FM, 4/6).
BACKFIRED PR ATTEMPT: In Ft. Worth, Mac Engel wrote Hardy "did nothing to help his case that he is worthy of another contract with a team" during the interview. Hardy "needs a real PR person to work with him and not an agent with too many clients" (STAR-TELEGRAM.com, 4/5). SI.com's Melissa Jacobs wrote with a "disturbing cocktail of hubris, stupidity and sheer desperation," Hardy in the interview "somehow managed to lower his already atrocious reputation" (SI.com, 4/5).
