Greg Hardy isn’t a popular figure right now, and New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall had strong words about the Dallas Cowboys defensive end.
During an appearance on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” (h/t ESPN), Marshall said Hardy is “not aware” of the magnitude of his actions, especially when considering the atmosphere of the league.
“I don’t think that he gets it. I don’t think that he learned his lesson. And he really needs to look himself in the mirror and ask himself, ‘What type of person do I want to be?'”
In case you missed it, Hardy planted himself squarely in the headlines after berating and shoving Dallas special teams coach Rich Bisaccia. The Cowboys had just tied the New York Giants at 20 apiece, but the Cowboys allowed a kickoff-return touchdown and fell behind.
Hardy lost his temper, which wasn’t the problem. Hardy’s actions after losing his temper were awful, especially when considering his history of domestic violence—a hot-button topic that the NFL has made a concerted attempt to address while simultaneously doing nothing about it.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones and defensive captain Sean Lee even went as far to say Hardy was acting like a leader.
Regardless, some people will say this situation is a pot calling the kettle black. Rumors of Marshall being a problem in the Chicago Bears locker room followed his trade from the Windy City.
Perhaps that’s true. Even if Marshall was an issue, though, this is a situation that is described as “tu quoque,” which is essentially when someone tries to discredit the validity of someone else’s statement because that particular someone had a similar problem.
Hardy doesn’t get it. That’s clear to see. Marshall is simply another voice of reason following a tremendously unfortunate development.