NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday said that the league "expects to conclude its review" of Cowboys DE Greg Hardy in the near future, and his decision "will follow shortly thereafter," according to David Moore of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Goodell while at the owners meeting in Phoenix "made it clear that he had no problems" with the Cowboys or any other club signing Hardy before the review was complete. Meanwhile, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett yesterday before the commissioner spoke stressed that the club "doesn’t know the extent of any potential punishment for Hardy." But Moore noted Garrett "does get the sense a decision will be made soon" (DALLASNEWS.com, 3/25). Goodell said that the league is doing its "due diligence with the investigation and there is no timetable on a decision." Goodell: "We are trying to get as many facts as we possibly can and make the most informed decision we can so that we can uphold the standards that we purport in the personal conduct policy" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/26). In Dallas, Steve Blow writes of Hardy, "From a football standpoint, I don’t care much one way or the other about his addition to the team. But I’m a huge fan of second chances." It has been "disheartening to watch this weeklong dogpile on Hardy for daring to practice his profession again and on the Cowboys for giving him that chance after domestic abuse charges." Blow: "Must the guy be banished forever? Is that what it would take to satisfy? Let me throw another name at you: Josh Hamilton." The former Rangers LF, now with the Angels, "became an almost immediate hero of redemption" following his problems with addiction. Blow: "Shouldn't Hardy get that chance, too? And don't the Cowboys deserve some credit for providing the opportunity?" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/26).
BUY, GEORGE! In Chicago, Hopkins & Hinkel note Bears DE Ray McDonald's one-year deal with the team "comes at a time of heightened scrutiny" about how the NFL "deals with domestic violence and other instances of violence against women." Chicago-based non-profit Life Span Exec Dir Denice Wolf Markham, whose organization provides counseling to victims of abuse, said that the signing "shows the team understands little about violence against women." Markham: "You have to ask yourself what were they thinking?" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/26). Also in Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom reported McDonald told Bears Chair George McCaskey "to call his parents" during their meetings ahead of the deal. Rosenbloom: "Now there’s an objective source" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 3/25). The TRIBUNE's David Haugh writes McCaskey "bought McDonald's performance, changing his mind and altering perception of a Bears offseason that was going very well" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/26). ESPN CHICAGO's Jon Greenberg wrote it apparently "doesn't take much to impress" McCaskey after seeing his comments about McDonald. Greenberg: "Color me unconvinced that McCaskey is some kind of character judge. Not that I expect much sensitivity from an NFL owner, even an anodyne sort like McCaskey" (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 3/25). ESPNW.com's Sarah Spain wrote if the Bears were to "publicly broadcast" that they expect more from McDonald than "just tackles and sacks, it would help." If they were to "publicly detail a treatment program for him, pointing out the expectations and requirements he'll have to meet in order to stay on the roster, fans might believe that a second chance in the NFL is about more than just wins and losses" (ESPNW.com, 3/25).
