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I have to seriously ask is this the kind of player we want representing the team? I for one say no.

"Greg Hardy does not yet have a NFL home, and for now his status in the Canadian Football League remains unclear.

Sportsnet has learned that the CFL has blocked the Saskatchewan Roughriders from adding Greg Hardy to the team’s exclusive negotiation list. Sources indicated the league office is now deciding whether or not to allow the Riders to obtain the rights to the former Pro Bowl defensive end.

Hardy is a free agent who, after fulfilling a four-game NFL suspension, played most of the 2015 season with the Dallas Cowboys. He remains unsigned south of the border, although he did visit the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, going through a two-day workout and interview session with the team.

While adding Hardy to a CFL negotiation list would not mean the player would sign a contract in Canada, that the league office has blocked him is significant. The CFL prevented teams from adding Ray Rice in 2014, but Rice has not played a professional game since he was charged with assault in a domestic violence incident (the charge was eventually thrown out). Hardy has.

When asked specifically about the Riders attempting to add Hardy to their negotiation list, and the league halting it, CFL spokesman Paulo Senra said: “We don’t have any comment.?

Even with a league-wide domestic violence policy, the CFL has permitted Justin Cox to sign, and play, in Saskatchewan, where he is now a starting defensive back with the Roughriders. Just last July, he was arrested for aggravated domestic violence, burglary of a residence and trespassing. Only nine months prior, he had been charged with burglary and aggravated domestic violence in a separate incident.

Sources say the Riders are waiting to hear from the league with regards to Hardy."

[b]Back in 2014, Hardy was charged and found guilty of assaulting a female, ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder, and communicating threats. The victim claimed the six-foot-five, 280-lb. lineman threw her in the bathtub, then dragged her into a bedroom, choked her and tossed her onto a couch covered with guns before threatening to kill her.

“He looked me in the eyes and he told me he was going to kill me. I was so scared I wanted to die,? Holder testified.[/b]

After playing in Week 1, Hardy was placed on the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission List for what turned out to be the remainder of the 2014 NFL season.

Hardy’s return to the NFL was mixed last season. He played the final 12 games, and while productive (35 tackles, six sacks, one forced fumble and one interception), he was not without controversy. In one standout incident, Hardy got into a shouting match with Dez Bryant and knocked a clipboard away from an assistant coach.

In the spring, the CFL was asked if the league would allow any of its teams to sign players who have had allegations of domestic violence like Hardy and Cox. Matt Maychak, Vice President Communications and Public Affairs, responded with:

“With any player with a history of violence, or any player who has faced allegations of violence, we would look to the team to assess the player, not just on his football skills, but on what he brings to the team, including assessing how he has moved forward since the violence or allegation of violence. We have experts in the field willing to help in this regard. Simply having a past would not eliminate a player from the CFL. However, if an assessment revealed or concluded that his behaviour or attitudes had not changed, and those pose a risk of future violence, then the league would expect teams to treat that as a very serious concern. The policy puts an emphasis on awareness, training and prevention, as well as ensuring those hurt by violence and abuse get help. While it contemplates potential penalties up to and including a lifetime ban for repeat offenders, it is really focused on working to prevent violence, and working to help ensure it stop if it has occurred.?

Hardy was selected 175th overall in the sixth round by the Carolina Panthers in the 2010 NFL Draft. He’s recorded 238 tackles, 40 sacks, 16 passes defended, eight forced fumbles and one interception through a six-year NFL career.

Hardy and Co approached Jones about a spot on the team prior to the season...Jones went to the CFL out of curiosity/to feel it out to see if he would even be permitted....the CFL said they would review it...Jones shrugged it off and has never actually filed to neg Hardy.

What is there to be "curious" of? It's no secret his rep and actions why even approach the subject? Why even inquire if your not interested? Where there is smoke there is fire and this report didn't come out of thin air. For that matter what about Cox and his past?
"Some players with a history of domestic violence are currently playing in the CFL, including Riders' DB Justin Cox who was arrested for domestic violence while at Mississippi State in 2014, had those charges dropped when he pled guilty to a lesser charge of trespassing, but then was arrested and charged with aggravated domestic violence and burglary in 2015 and cut by the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs as a result"

I know all players are not angels but where should the line be drawn no matter how talented a player is ? Knock a woman around a couple of times is all right but don't touch kids? Blow up a building but no one was killed so that's all right? How many times can you mess up before it's too many? Cox appears didn't learn the first time so had another go at it. Is that fine?

Just how far are we as a team, a league, and as a fan base willing to go to win? At any cost? Where is the line in the sand that says nope this guy has gone too far.

Why wouldn’t he at least call and see what the league thinks? This is a pretty solid player, so it is worth feeling out. Their reaction echoed his gut so he passed…otherwise they would have responded with an answer by now. Had they said “yeah, no problem” then he probably considers bringing him in. You get a top end player you bat the idea around a bit. Very good player calls and wants a shot…step one…see what the league thinks in regards to his past…if they respond like they did it makes the decision easy…if they approve then you might actually have to weigh it all out…you don’t just dismiss it at the snap of the fingers…you evaluate it…which is exactly what he did…really not seeing the issue here.

As for Cox…who knows…but the league never batted an eye at it so it is likely nothing…charges were dismissed and dropped…to make a broad assumption…sounds like he got the boot from a gf and returned to get his junk and it got heated…I would guess he kicked in a door and she got hit…also sounds like something happened 2 times with the same girl

http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=39717

Stupid decisions…but clearly does not appear to have been anything serious and sounds like he is a pretty level guy

[url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/roughriders-no-longer-interested-in-player-with-domestic-violence-allegations-1.3696066]http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche ... -1.3696066[/url]
The CFL unveiled a policy on violence against women, including domestic violence, last year. It includes authority to impose sanctions on players or employees who violate the policy.
'Quite honestly, you wouldn't have a league if all the guys who had some type of past transgression in high school or junior college or college [weren't allowed to play].'
- Riders' head coach Chris Jones

Jones was also asked about Riders’ cornerback Justin Cox, who also has allegations of domestic abuse in his background. Asked whether the team looks at such things when it acquires players, Jones said it does.

“Absolutely we look at it,” Jones said. “I have known some people who have known Justin Cox since high school and had a lot of thorough investigation done on his background.”

Jones said he was satisfied with the results of that scrutiny and reiterated that the team takes domestic assault charges and convictions very seriously.

“Quite honestly, you wouldn’t have a league if all the guys who had some type of past transgression in high school or junior college or college [weren’t allowed to play],” he said. “You wouldn’t have a CFL.”

Seriously? The guy knocks a clipboard of an assistant coaches hands while playing for Dallas. He was a distraction on the team. Here is one report "Iyer writes: "Hardy mostly was a non-impact player in Dallas. And a headache. He reportedly wasn’t well conditioned or a good teammate, and that combination wore on the coaching staff.

"Hardy had the best situation to resurrect his career and deliver again on an elite level. He instead dragged a struggling team marred by offensive injuries further down on defense.

"An offseason removed from his troubles, Hardy has rendered himself almost untouchable. Hardy has bigger baggage now, and a signing would require a team to come up with another creative contract and be willing to taking a huge risk with both player chemistry and community standing. Hardy was a distraction in Dallas and won’t shake that label as long he’s an active football player looking for work.

“The Cowboys made a desperate move last year with Hardy. It’s tough to see another team repeating that mistake.”

Here is another report on him
“Garrett had a hard time hiding his emotions throughout the season as Hardy, who sat out the first four games of last season as punishment for the domestic violence case, continued to push his coach, his teammates and his team owner. The Cowboys came close to disciplining Hardy for his actions, showing up late for meetings and reportedly slapping a clipboard from an assistant coach’s hands, during the season, among other things. When Hardy’s effectiveness waned late last season, it appeared the Cowboys were done making excuses for him.” and it goes on
" The Cowboys had little problem with Hardy’s domestic violence issues before. What irritated them and have kept them from making any perceptible move toward re-signing him is that he wasn’t very likeable or trustworthy in the locker room a year ago.

Come on Depop are you honestly saying that we have any business even entertaining any notion of bringing this ***clown here? Again where do you draw the line of an "untouchable " player?

Like I said I realize all players are not choir boys but this guy is a real piece of work and as for Cox I could understand something happening once but then to have it happen again less then a year later? That really makes me wonder.

This in my opinion was just a flat out bone head idea and I don’t care if the guy got a sack on every play I would no way even return his call or goes as far as contact the league “inquiring if it would be possible” to put him on the neg list. There are times when you have to know in your heart that something is just plain wrong. I would say that MR Hardy would easily fall into that category. Mr Cox I would say should be on a one strike and your done policy.

Sorry but I would rather lose every game then to have a douche bag like Hardy associated with the Riders. I would hope our management would have felt the same but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Who said he was going to be a roster player if they did ink him? Who said he would even make it to camp? If he is out of shape and a grazer there is one thing that is obvious with Jones…the guy would not be around long.

You draw the line at a guy who can not get a passport…if the government (who is pretty strict) says no…that is enough. Everyone else gets consideration. Doesn’t mean it will be more than just that…consideration. One might neg a guy…consider it…look at the background more…then pass. When a potential player comes available you neg list them THEN do your due diligence…you don’t look into it and wait for them to be inked or neg listed elsewhere.

you are making way way way too big of a deal about this…a player of potential/interest came their way…they looked into listing him…it was clear it was a headache so they moved on. even if the cfl gave the thumbs up there it nothing saying that after the weighed it all out they even bring him into a mini…costs zip to neg a guy for a few days to look into their background for a little more info.

You feel that they should have instantly known the intimate details of his issues when he called? cmon…get real. they got a call…said “hmm, interesting” dropped a line to the CFL…got resistance…done. That call would have been shortly after the talk with the player…after that they do their own digging…not just into his personal issues but into his play via footage and his team presence via contacts…that is just plain reality…they are not going to just pass because they know there is history…they are not going to just run with him because he fed them “his side” in a pretty story…it is called doing their due diligence…which they did…CFL front office is the pretty obvious first call on it to see if it even worth spending their time looking into

Well you may think I'm making way too big of a deal about it and sure they could pass on the guy and sure they could do research on the guy and then say no thanks but how about questioning right off the hop if in fact he was the one contacting the Riders why would this guy be interested in coming here if he had NFL experience and why has no other NFL team signed him? I mean seriously no offense to the CFL but really the pay difference as you are well aware of would tell you either he is washed up or there has to a darn good reason he is knocking on your door and can't catch on with another NFL team.

That to me would send up warning flags right there. Hmm there is a wonderful thing called the internet that it is pretty easy to find info on such people. Honestly this wasn't just a little blog in some backwater newspaper that no one could easily with a few clicks get some pretty good insight on him. What, I found info in all of about 30 seconds so after reading even a few of the topics on him and I would be saying NO THANKS. I wouldn't have had to call the league or anything. I don't give a rat's *** how good he is. His character and his history on and off the field would be enough to end it right there. End of story. I mean this guy wasn't in trouble for jay walking or something minor. I mean what in God's green earth was there to consider? What other due diligence would have been needed? He's a loser, a woman beater, and a cancer in the locker room. 3 strikes in one shot. Game,set match. Game over.

If this was any other team I would not be happy if they had anything to do with this guy just as I was unhappy about Kalif Mitchel and his antics. Some times it's just not a good idea to have someone of this character involved with any team in the league, ours included.

It doesnt matter what the reason he is knocking on the door is for…you neg THEN look into…not the other way around…at least you know he still desires to play if he has made millions and is still looking at the CFL…that says something. A big name in the NFL got in trouble and gave attitude and is having a hard time finding work…that sure hasn’t happened before right? But oh wait…he has been having OTAs…so…yeah…he is still being looked at in the NFL…hmmm. Here is the thing with reading online…when you talk to a contact or 2 that you trust it is worth 100 times what you read online and you don’t steer yourself…that neg list happens THEN you investigate. I don’t know why this would be such a hard concept to grasp…you list before someone else does then investigate…you dont wait a day…you don’t wait an hour…you do it now. This is a probowl DE who holds a team record whos teammates and coaches pleaded for him to be retained after the domestic violence charges…so you can read all the online stuff you want…there was a team full of people that wanted him around…does that mean nothing? Of course not…that means something. He then had issues getting along on the Cowboys…that also means something. So there you go…one team wanted him…one team did not. That is where due diligence kicks in…and that takes more than Google…and that is why you look into listing him. He might be washed up from being out of shape…oh well…then you pass…unlikely he is as he is 27 and having multiple tryouts in the NFL right now…but if he is…big deal…you now no why he has trouble landing and looked at the CFL and you move on. You look at his domestic stuff…you take his story…you take public record…you take what contacts who are more in the situation and judge on that…not from something online…and if it just too much you pass. taking a call and instantly rejecting a potentially good player over character when you don’t know that person and are not familiar with details…that is irresponsible leadership…that is pissing on due diligence.

Funny, yet you were the biggest advocate on here to bring Sheets back during the offseason. NeWsFlAsH, there is a little thing called the internet out there that you could have explored to gain some perspective on his past.

If I knew of his past then I probably wouldn't have been so keen . That isn't my job to do background checks on players I expect management to do their jobs and check players out.

His background issues were spoken of a fair bit on here

Wes Cates went through it to

Taj as well

Point being you take EVERY player and look into it on your own and way it all out as a GM....that is due diligence...knowing there is history and writing them off without that is unjust, irresponsible and just plain wrong. There are players with troubled history that you will roll the dice on with strict conditions and reduced pay due to the risk. There are players you simply walk away from as well...like what happened here

Actually when the info was released about Sheets and his past I wasn’t so thrilled about him and I did mention it at the time. Yes Taj too. I just think a player representing the team should be of good moral character, after all it’s not a right to make a living playing a sport it is a priviledge, most of us never get the opportunity to do.

A player calls you about working for you… you need to put him on a neg list first… not? or else your talks could all be for not.

So you put him on the list and then look into who he is. What part are you missing? How can you be so blind as to how the process works? Or are you saying that the staff should know everything about every potential player in north America? What exactly is your beef?

We were not looking at him, he was looking at us, so we asked if we could look back. We didn’t have far to go to see that there is nothing of interest there.

oic you thought you found something that you could use for your fire Jones rants…

Personally I’ve nothing against Jones as i think his staff and him have done a awesome job of replacing the team of 3 or 4 we had and giving us a full team back. I’m looking forward to the future of how this team shakes out, that is not something I was able to say with the prior regime.

One last thing… you are as none of us are the Judge and Jury.

Where is it written in blood that you have to do it this way? I mean here is the thing. If they had did a back ground check first I think Jones would have realized pretty quick this guy isn’t exactly a poster boy for the team or at least he shouldn’t be and it ends right there most likely, no media, no possibility of it reflecting back on the team . Instead he calls the league first and some how this information got leaked that we were inquiring about this guy. Now should it have been leaked? Of course not but if a reporter thinks it is going to be news worthy they are going to spill the beans, that is their job after all. Any news about the Riders whether good or bad is money to the media.

As I said this isn’t about the job Jones is doing or not doing. This is more about the image of even entertaining of having a player of this back ground on the team. I’m just saying if it was done right no one even probably gets a hint that we looked at the possibilites of neg listing him and there is no story and no image issue. Just saying it could have been handled more discreetly and this never sees the light of day.

Where is it written in stone? it is not. It is written in common sense.

“If they did a background check first” you clearly just dont grasp it. If a player is looking you lock other teams out…someone catches wind you are even sniffing around a player and that player is instantly neg listed by another team…that is the point of having the system in place! You seem to think this is something you can generally sit back and ponder for a few hours…you can’t…neg ASAP, then do due diligence.

So you are saying that if you are interested in a player…potentially…just talking their ability and nothing else…you are going to rely on the fricken internet to make that decision? If you see red flags are you going to wipe your hands of the player or are you going to do your due diligence and actually pick up the phone and spend a few hours or more looking into it? If you answered in the fashion of wiping your hands then you are going to miss out on a LOT of good players. If you go with more investigating you are going to lose a LOT of good players because they are going to be snagged and listed from under your nose…but hey…time well spent…drawing attention to players so that another team can do the smart thing…neg em then research.

You seem to think spending a few minutes being a google warrior is enough to make a decision…that is a load of crap. You looked and found rfed flags…I on the other hand posted about the other half of the story where teammates and coaches went to bat to try to keep him. It is not black and white…it requires investigation. Making decisions on stuff like this via online research…that is laughable. It gives you a few things to look at…eye openers…starting points…nothing more…the internet is filled with the dark matter in almost everything…you need to talk to people to get to the other side of the bs pond.

Calling the league first is 100% the right thing to do first every time. WTF would you invest your time and effort if the league is against…that would be rediculous. First call is seeing what they say…because that can make decisions easier…such as it did here. Even if you see nothing red flags wise…first move is neg listing…then you continue your background check and scouting

If had been done right? Well…firstly it was…secondly…this was done months ago…so why did it come out now? Did you know about it back then…NOPE…so the way it was done accomplished exactly what you are saying…nobody knew. There is some sort of crazy mole right now…because this was way in the past and never should have surfaced at this point. This WAS handled discretrely…instead of faxing in the neg Jones picked up the phone and felt it out…didn’t like the resistance and walked away from it.

Of course I'm not saying s a person in football would rely on the internet for all the info to make a decision on every player or even Hardy. What, with all the connections down South that Jones is suppose to have he couldn't pick up a phone and call one of his "sources " and get better insight? How long would that taken 5- 10 mins? I have to ask do you honestly think Jones had no clue about this character and his past? Sorry but a man of his supposed connections would have or should have had a real good idea before he even got off the phone with Hardy. Geez I mean this clown has had little to no interest in the NFL because of his rep and because of the bad mage he would bring with him so do you think that every other team would be chomping at the bit to sign him? If that was the case why has he not been signed up to now?

Geez Louise if you can't see there should be some people that in no way shape or form be associated with the team then I just don't know what to say.

Now there is an article out that again reflects bad on the the team for allowing players that have a past with domestic violence.

Reporter says #Riders have 'some tolerance' for players accused of domestic abuse <!-- m -->https://t.co/YDElF76xxT<!-- m --> #CFL pic.twitter.com/Vn3YJponoS
— CBC Saskatchewan (@CBCSask) July 27, 2016

Football is a game of organized violence with large, muscular men, crashing into each other. But, when it leaves the field and players are accused of domestic violence, the public can take a dim view.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are now being asked where they stand.

Sports journalist Dave Naylor thinks he knows the answer.

"The Riders believe they can sign players that have that background and fans will tolerate it, and the evidence would seem to suggest they are right," he told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

The Riders are facing questions because there was talk of hiring Greg Hardy, an NFL star who is now having trouble landing a job in football because of allegations of domestic violence.

In addition, the team added Justin Cox to the roster in May. Cox was fired by the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs in 2015 after being arrested and charged with domestic violence.

"I've known some people that have known Justin Cox since high school and had a thorough investigation done on his background," said Rider coach and GM Chris Jones.

"I know some of his junior college coaches well and so I was fully satisfied with the things that we found. I just know that we gave it to the people that make those types of decisions and they made their decision to let him in and play."

CFL can't stop teams

All of this is happening despite the CFL's policy on violence against women. The policy is proactive in that it works to raise awareness and to educate players. It also includes sanctions on players or employees who violate the policy.

However, Naylor says we all need to understand what's not in the policy.

"What it doesn't say is whether you can hire or employ a football player who has a background on issues of domestic violence, there is nothing saying you can't do that."

"I think that what you learn about the Riders is that they do have some tolerance for guys that have this issue in their background."

Is this a positive reflection of the team or it's fans? Sorry but I personally don't see it as such. With the CFL making noise about domestic violence and not tolerating it (as they should) you think adding or even mentioning in any way shape or form another player accused of such a very public domestic violence case to the team is a good idea? I mean Cox is one with such a past so lets entertain the idea of adding another? Heck why not go to a prison and see who is eligible for parole and make the team from that? No bad image or fall out could possibly happen from it, right? Yes I'm being sarcastic, but again where do you draw the line? Who is a person that should not be "considered" adding to the team? I would have thought common sense and morale would have indicated Hardy was taboo PERIOD.

I'm starting to think that Jones got a bad batch of dry ribs "somewhere", publicly lashed out at the "establishment" that served them up, and hence we have the " Anything Jones does is down right wrong and debilitating to the team" attitude out there.

"[b]The Saskatchewan Roughriders are now being asked where they stand.

Sports journalist Dave Naylor thinks he knows the answer.

"The Riders believe they can sign players that have that background and fans will tolerate it, and the evidence would seem to suggest they are right," he told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.[/b]

So I would take it Taleback that you don't find this a bit embarrassing or a bad image of the team and it's fans? Does it make you proud ? I don't .

I thought the riders had a code of conduct to uphold, or we could have gotten Tillman back too.