Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
A controversial NFL star was targeted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the offseason, but the team’s plan to bring him in was blocked by the CFL.
At least at the moment, the league is not allowing the Riders to add 27-year-old Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy to their negotiation list.
Head coach Chris Jones told the media Hardy initiated the conversation.
“It was a six-hour discussion, he was interested in coming up. I inquired with the league, the league made their ruling, and you can talk to Jeffrey Orridge (CFL Commissioner) and those guys if you need to have more info on it.”
Jones also defended his team’s interest in a player with a background such as Hardy’s.
“Quite honestly, you wouldn’t have a league if all the guys that had some type of past transgression in high school or junior college or college, you wouldn’t have a CFL.”
In 2014, Hardy was charged with assaulting and threatening his former girlfriend Nicole Holder. She claimed Hardy threw and dragged her around, choked her, and then threatened to kill her. The investigation photos showed a battered and bruised Holder.
A judge found Hardy guilty of assault and communicating threats. When Hardy appealed the decision, Holder failed to appear in court to testify. The prosecutor’s office then dropped the charges believing the two had reached a settlement.
The 6’5″, 280-lb. Hardy did not play the entire 2014-15 NFL season, and sat out the first four games on the 2015-16 season due to a suspension. He then played the final 12 games of that season with the Dallas Cowboys.
The six-year NFL veteran remains a free agent heading into the upcoming season.
Hardy was drafted in the sixth round, 175th overall, by the Carolina Panthers in the 2010 NFL draft.
