Monday Morning Michelle: Dear ‘Disgusted Cowboys’ fan’

Dear Michelle, Did you see those photos of Greg Hardy’s girlfriend?  How can the Cowboys keep him on the team?  How can the NFL continue to disrespect women by not making a stand that is anything other than lip service? It’s disgusting.  How can you still root for the team knowing it has no respect for women? – Disgusted Cowboys’ fan

Dear Disgusted,

Last night I happened to notice that ‘Jerry Jones’ was trending on Twitter. For a brief moment I thought maybe he was ill, but after checking on the trend, I noticed that once against the team is in the news because of its connection with Greg Hardy.  There was a stir on Twitter about the photos that had been released and soon I would get direct messages asking me about my thoughts on the matter.  What do I think the Cowboys should do about the matter?  Many of my followers posed very similar questions as those you have asked so I have decided to address the matter this morning.

Did you see those photos of Greg Hardy’s girlfriend?

First, in response to the question as to whether I have seen the photos.  At first I did not care to look at them.  Seeing a visual image of the photos will not cause me to see it as any more severe as it was previously reported.  Partial transcripts from the trial wherein he was originally convicted which had been published by Sports Illustrated were enough to convince me that the situation was horrid.  I need not see the photos.  However, that being said, this morning I noticed that one of my followers shared the photos with me in a tweet, and it was pretty much unavoidable for me to miss them.  So at this point I believe I have seen some of the photos that have been released.

How can the NFL continue to disrespect women by not making a stand that is anything other than lip service?

The National Football League is an enigma to me.  I am not sure that it intends to disrespect women when it institutes its policies.  I think it is caught in a precarious situation because the players have a strong union that fights hard for the rights of the players.  There are legal issues appear complicated, and at times almost present a  somewhat polarized stance and it appears as though the league is trying to do the right thing, at least in theory.

How can you still root for the team knowing it has no respect for women?

Part of the reason I chose to root for the Cowboys had to do with the way the team was underperforming and my desire to see a team that seemed to be embracing the label of America’s Team be a winning team.  I also loved watching the cheerleaders when I was younger, and think they do so much to add what makes the entire package in Dallas marketable.  I love their uniforms and I think I have always had this desire to be from Texas because Texas is sexy!  I also do not mind if a team opts to hire those who have made mistakes and own those mistakes and wish to turn their lives around.  My issue with Greg Hardy has more to do with what he seems to be doing now that he’s there and that is saying stupid things which show me that he’s not really grown but rather looking to capitalize on the matter.  It’s as though he has failed to harness the severity of the matter.

It’s difficult for me to continual see this man’s name in lights and it’s almost as though people are using the topic in a way they would choose to use another topic just to get attention to something.  I would have way more respect for Hardy and the team if he stayed out of the limelight with the exception of reports about his playing ability.  I also think the team picks those it chooses to stick up for.  For example, it seemed to leave Dez hanging out to dry when it was in the middle of contract negotiations with a ‘Fend for yourself’ sort of attitude.  Call it what you will, but I think the team just cares about winning at whatever cost.

Ironically rumor has it that the Cowboys’ stadium was built so that God would be able to watch down on the team.  If that’s the case, then I would imagine that the poetic justice will eventually work itself out.  Whether you believe in God or something else that will act similar to karma, my guess is that selling your soul never does much good in the long run.    If the Cowboys truly put winning over integrity, it’s something Mr. Jones simply does not see or care to address.  Sometimes denial can be our greatest enemy.

In the end the team is not Greg Hardy and he is one player.  Sadly, there are kids everywhere who will probably think domestic violence is okay just because Hardy was signed and this is where it’s up to all of us to point out that it’s NOT okay.  If I thought Greg Hardy was actually a changed man and was doing all he could to be productive member of the team, with a desire to learn from his past mistakes, I would have no problem with his being celebrated.  I just do not see that he cares to be anyone other than the person he was, and even seems to be proud of it.

I still root for the Cowboys, I just feel a sense of sadness that they seem to be compromising on values that one would have liked to think were present.  I’m just starting to realize the odds are they were never present, and it’s a bit like the ‘Wizard of Oz’ when the curtain is drawn open in that it’s nothing of what you thought but it is what it is.  So I suppose, if anything it don’t impress me much.

-All the best,

Michelle