Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones issued a statement on the signing of former Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Greg Hardy.
The Dallas Cowboys have been relatively inactive in NFL free agency in 2015, letting star running back DeMarco Murray leave for the rival Philadelphia Eagles.
The Cowboys did make a move on Wednesday to shore up arguably one of the team’s biggest weak points, the defensive line. The Cowboys signed former Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Greg Hardy to a one-year “prove it” deal loaded with incentives.
On the surface, the Cowboys got one of the game’s best at his position. The issue with the signing is that Hardy brings a history of domestic violence to the organization, and fans are not necessarily thrilled with their team being the one to give him a second chance. It seems especially hypocritical when you consider the fact that Jones called spousal abuse “intolerable” when discussing the situation involving Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice.
That forced Jones to issue a statement to the fan base on the Hardy signing that has some scratching their heads. He doesn’t really address how he came to decide to overlook his past to make the signing, but reiterated his anti-domestic violence stance.
Here is the statement, via Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPN Dallas:
“This agreement involved an important element of our defensive scheme, specifically the pass rush, at a position that we felt we needed to address this off season. We entered this free agency period with the idea of utilizing key resources to help us on the defensive side of the ball.
“Greg is a proven and experienced player whose production has allowed him to play at a Pro Bowl level. This is a one-year agreement that is incentive based and heavily weighted toward his participation in games.
“We have spent a great deal of time over the last two days in meeting with Greg directly and gaining a solid understanding of what he is all about as a person and as a football player. A thorough background review of him, involving many elements of our organization, has been ongoing for the last few weeks.
“Obviously a great deal of our study was dedicated to the issue of domestic violence, and the recent events that associated Greg with that issue. We know that Greg’s status remains under review by the National Football League.
“Our organization understands the very serious nature of domestic violence in our society and in our league. We know that Greg has a firm understanding of those issues as well.”
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