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4/23 OT: Greg Hardy Suspended 10 Games

Gregory Hardy[1] (born July 28, 1988), nicknamed The Kraken, is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of theNational Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss"). He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Early years[edit]

Hardy attended Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was a three-sport letterman in football, basketball and track. In football, he helped lead his team to the state championship in 2004. As a senior, he was credited with 65 tackles, including 12 for loss and six sacks, while also receiving 48 passes for 268 yards. Hardy played with offensive lineman Michael Oher at both Briarcrest Christian School, Tennessee and Ole Miss.[2] In basketball, he was an honorable mention All-State as a junior.

In track & field, Hardy earned a letter competing as a sprinter and shot putter. In sprints, he ran the 200-meter dash in 24.04 seconds as a sophomore. In the shot put, he got a top-throw of 14.47 meters (47 ft, 2 in).[3] In addition, he also recorded a 4.8-second 40-yard dash and had a 28-inch vertical jump.

Hardy was considered a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, and was ranked No. 30 among weakside defensive end prospects, No. 44 according to Scout.com.[4] He was an All-State pick who was rated as the No. 5 player in Tennessee by Super Prep, No. 8 by Scout.comand No. 12 by Rivals.com. He was also named All-Metro by The Commercial Appeal.

College career[edit]

Hardy was considered one of the best pass rushers eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft but he elected to return to Ole Miss for a senior season.[5] He underwent surgery on a broken bone in his right foot during the off-season but was ready for the 2009 season.[6]

Hardy had 38.5 career tackles for loss and 26.5 sacks, which included a best in the SEC 10.0 sacks in 2007.

Professional career[edit]

Pre-draft[edit]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic
6 ft 3 5/8 in 281 lb 4.79 s 1.67 s 2.82 s 4.62 s 7.13 s 36 in 10 ft 1 in 21 reps x
All values from Mississippi Pro Day[7]

In April 2009 Sports Illustrated, Hardy was named the top prospect for the 2010 NFL Draft. However injuries, poor production, and an unimpressive combine, caused his draft stock to fall significantly.[8]

Carolina Panthers[edit]

Hardy was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round (175th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was signed to a contract on June 17, 2010.[9] Hardy managed to record a blocked punt for a safety as well as force a fumble and record 4 tackles in his rookie debut.

Although Hardy had played in 15 games his rookie year, he had started none. He did however, finish the year with 30 tackles, 3 sacks, two forced fumbles, and the aforementioned safety.

Hardy recorded 11 sacks in 2012 in spite of sustaining a broken thumb in September.[10]

On November 9, 2012, Hardy was fined $15,750 for a roughing the passer penalty against Robert Griffin III versus the Washington Redskins in Week 9.[11]

On June 11, 2013, Hardy spoke to reporters during a summer minicamp claiming his goal for sacks in the 2013 season to be 50. Regarding such a lofty number, more than twice the current record, Hardy stated, "Why shoot low, right? If I'm going to shoot at it, I'm going to shoot at it with a 50 caliber. I'm going to shoot at a little bird with a 50-caliber bullet. That's the goal for this year, 50 sacks, that's where I'm at. That's the goal, 50. You heard it first."[12]

In a road victory against the Atlanta Falcons, Hardy finished with a single game team record four sacks. He ended up recording a team-record 15 sacks, earning his first trip to the 2014 Pro Bowland being named a second-team All Pro by the Associated Press. The Panthers defense finished first in the NFL with 60 sacks in 2013, second in points per game, and third in DVOA team defense. He was ranked 53rd in the NFL Top 100 for his breakout performance in the 2013 NFL Season.

Set to become a free agent during the 2014 offseason, it was announced on February 28, 2014 that the Panthers had placed the franchise tag on Hardy, allowing him to return to the field for them during the 2014 season.[13] Due to his domestic abuse charges, Hardy was suspended for all but the first game of the 2014 season.

Dallas Cowboys[edit]

On March 18, 2015, Hardy signed a one year, $11.3 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys.[14]

On April 22, 2015, Hardy was suspended the first 10 games of the 2015 season without pay in relation to his domestic abuse charges.[15][16]

Domestic abuse[edit]

On June 15, 2014, Hardy was accused of assaulting his partner Nicole Holder.[17] According to Holder, "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 dragged 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. Greg 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) Hardy exercised his right under North Carolina law to appeal the conviction.[18] After playing Week 1, Hardy was deactivated Week 2 against the Detroit Lions.[19]On September 17, 2014 Hardy agreed to be placed on the exempt list. He continued to draw a salary of $13.1 million in spite of being ineligible to play in NFL games or practice with the Panthers.[20] The charges against Hardy were dismissed on February 9, 2015 after court officials were unable to locate Holder during Hardy's appeal.[21]

Career stats[edit]

Year Team GP GS Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Comb Total Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int Yds Avg Lng TDs FF FR
2010 CAR 15 0 30 24 6 3.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2011 CAR 16 16 50 38 12 4.0 1 11 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2012 CAR 15 10 61 41 20 11.0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
2013 CAR 16 13 59 39 20 15.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
2014 CAR 1 1 4 3 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 63 40 204 145 59 34.0 2 15 0 0 0 0 0 7 2