Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo seemed to toe the company line in an interview with KESN in Dallas on Wednesday.
Speaking up on the signing of former Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy, the veteran signal caller indicated that he believes everyone deserves a second chance, Hardy and Ray Rice included (via The Dallas Morning News).
If every time someone did something wrong everybody turned the other way and didn’t like anybody on this planet, really in general, I would think that none of us would like each other,” Romo explained. “I just think with some people, stuff ends up getting found out about and they have to deal with it and take responsibility for it, especially when you’re in the public eye. I just think that everybody deserves a second chance. I think that’s just part of what we should be doing as people and as teams.”
This comes on the heels of a somewhat awkward PR push from the Cowboys to defend the signing of Hardy. It also comes at a time when the team is receiving a lot of push back, especially after owner Jerry Jones’ comments regarding the Hardy signing.
In looking to bring up both the Hardy and Ray Rice situations, Dallas’ quarterback continued:
Is he going to help us as a pass rusher? There’s no question. I think that we all know that because he’s a talented player he’s going to be afforded more opportunities in the National Football League. At the same time, even if he wasn’t, I still think Ray Rice and Greg Hardy deserve another chance, just because I feel like everybody has their skeletons in their closet. If everything was shown over everyone’s head, no one would be given a second chance. That’s part of the way I think we think.
The whole “he deserves a second chance” narrative can be seen as being worn out a bit. Tell that to individuals who have allegedly committed similar crimes in a profession outside of football. They most likely wouldn’t be afforded the second chance Romo is talking about here.
It’s been a somewhat disastrous past couple weeks in the PR department for the Cowboys, and having the team’s star quarterback speak out on the topic probably didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
As it relates to what Romo might be able to do to help Hardy in Dallas, the quarterback is seen as the team leader. He has no history of off-field issues and is widely respected around league circles. It will be interesting to see if he helps Hardy overcome push back from local leaders in the Dallas area and some of the team’s fanbase.
Photo: USA Today Sports