Greg Hardy faces his former team on Thanksgiving. That opens the door yet again to probe his psyche, discuss the NFL's stance on a serious social issue and chastise the Cowboys for their part in this contentious narrative.
Jerry Jones knows what's coming in the days leading up to the Carolina game. The Cowboys owner gets it. He wants to assure you Hardy gets it, even though the defensive end's actions and tweets suggest otherwise.
Jones implies it's the Cowboys who have done Hardy a disservice, questioning whether he and the franchise did all it could to prepare the athlete for the storm that ensued once photos from his domestic abuse case were published earlier this month.
Sides are dug in when it comes to Hardy. Critics will view this as the latest example of Jones enabling unacceptable behavior and shielding a star player. The owner will counter that he's simply questioning whether the organization has given Hardy the proper support and tools to handle this prolonged public debate.
It's a talking point that has nothing to do with what takes on the field between the Cowboys and Panthers Thursday afternoon, but one that persists.
"I have understood the criticism and the basis of the criticism is, in essence, he has not owned the right to play in the NFL, that it sends the wrong message,'' Jones said. "At the end of the day I really do understand that.''
Now that Ray Rice is no longer in the league, Hardy has become the face of domestic abuse and the NFL's initial failures in this area. His unrepentant, and at times defiant attitude, serves to enflame passions.
"That's just not right,'' Jones said of the characterization. "I don't think that at all.
"He understands.''
Jones maintains Hardy isn't the person portrayed in the media. He concedes the player has done himself no favors with his mannerisms and responses. But he refers to Hardy's artistic side and calls him sensitive. Hardy reminds the owner of former Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett in that regard.
Jones has met individually with Hardy on several occasions in recent weeks. In the aftermath of Sunday's victory over Miami, Jones had an employee inform the defensive end that the two would meet again in the days leading up to the Panthers game.
Jones knows a thing or two about facing intense, unrelenting scrutiny from the media he can pass along.
"He's had to actually learn that he can't run a stop sign because he's going to be overly judged relative to the court of public opinion,'' Jones said.
None of this is news to Jones. When Michael Irvin went through his trials and tribulations off the field in the 1990s, part of the criticism became why should the Pro Bowl receiver follow the rules when his boss, who was at war with the NFL, didn't.
And then there's the record.
Hardy isn't just the face of domestic violence in the NFL. He became the face of the Cowboys seven-game losing streak.
It's not rational. But following a football team isn't about reason, it's about emotion. It's difficult to untangle all the emotions that occur when a team goes 63 days between victories.
"Go back over the years and look at the weeks your involved when you're not winning games and see if you get more criticism,'' Jones said. "You do. And you get criticism for many things.
"You don't have a lot of the intensity, in my mind, if you're sitting here having the year we had last year. You really don't. So I have to weigh all of this in terms of what we do and how we do.''
Something else Jones weighs: Hardy was, in the owners words, exemplary in training camp. But he wasn't allowed to talk to the media in camp. The missteps came once he did.
The release of the photos took place on Nov. 6. Next was a tweet claiming his innocence and alleging discrimination. Reports soon leaked out of a missed meeting.
"What could I have been doing to help him?'' Jones has asked of himself. "Should there have been more counseling or those kinds of things?
"Looking back here after the pictures and some of the other criticisms, you say, 'OK, Jones, you should have been doing about three times (personal contact) and probably you would have avoided one of those times with the media that made him look bad. You probably could have done that two or three times if you worked a little harder.''
Jones has worked harder to connect with Hardy and advise him in recent weeks. Club officials insist Hardy respects authority and cares what his teammates think about him. Management will tell you Hardy is much easier to deal with than Jeremiah Ratliff and a few others who have played for the Cowboys.
"There is a genuine effort here for him to get a second chance,'' Jones said. "There is a genuine effort for him to rehab his perception.
"There are no second chances regarding the issue of domestic violence. There's none. What you want to see is him do things that don't create more emphasis on that.
"We can all do better for him.''
Jerry Jones knows what's coming in the days leading up to the Carolina game. The Cowboys owner gets it. He wants to assure you Hardy gets it, even though the defensive end's actions and tweets suggest otherwise.
Jones implies it's the Cowboys who have done Hardy a disservice, questioning whether he and the franchise did all it could to prepare the athlete for the storm that ensued once photos from his domestic abuse case were published earlier this month.
Sides are dug in when it comes to Hardy. Critics will view this as the latest example of Jones enabling unacceptable behavior and shielding a star player. The owner will counter that he's simply questioning whether the organization has given Hardy the proper support and tools to handle this prolonged public debate.
It's a talking point that has nothing to do with what takes on the field between the Cowboys and Panthers Thursday afternoon, but one that persists.
"I have understood the criticism and the basis of the criticism is, in essence, he has not owned the right to play in the NFL, that it sends the wrong message,'' Jones said. "At the end of the day I really do understand that.''
Now that Ray Rice is no longer in the league, Hardy has become the face of domestic abuse and the NFL's initial failures in this area. His unrepentant, and at times defiant attitude, serves to enflame passions.
"That's just not right,'' Jones said of the characterization. "I don't think that at all.
"He understands.''
Jones maintains Hardy isn't the person portrayed in the media. He concedes the player has done himself no favors with his mannerisms and responses. But he refers to Hardy's artistic side and calls him sensitive. Hardy reminds the owner of former Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett in that regard.
Jones has met individually with Hardy on several occasions in recent weeks. In the aftermath of Sunday's victory over Miami, Jones had an employee inform the defensive end that the two would meet again in the days leading up to the Panthers game.
Jones knows a thing or two about facing intense, unrelenting scrutiny from the media he can pass along.
"He's had to actually learn that he can't run a stop sign because he's going to be overly judged relative to the court of public opinion,'' Jones said.
None of this is news to Jones. When Michael Irvin went through his trials and tribulations off the field in the 1990s, part of the criticism became why should the Pro Bowl receiver follow the rules when his boss, who was at war with the NFL, didn't.
And then there's the record.
Hardy isn't just the face of domestic violence in the NFL. He became the face of the Cowboys seven-game losing streak.
It's not rational. But following a football team isn't about reason, it's about emotion. It's difficult to untangle all the emotions that occur when a team goes 63 days between victories.
"Go back over the years and look at the weeks your involved when you're not winning games and see if you get more criticism,'' Jones said. "You do. And you get criticism for many things.
"You don't have a lot of the intensity, in my mind, if you're sitting here having the year we had last year. You really don't. So I have to weigh all of this in terms of what we do and how we do.''
Something else Jones weighs: Hardy was, in the owners words, exemplary in training camp. But he wasn't allowed to talk to the media in camp. The missteps came once he did.
The release of the photos took place on Nov. 6. Next was a tweet claiming his innocence and alleging discrimination. Reports soon leaked out of a missed meeting.
"What could I have been doing to help him?'' Jones has asked of himself. "Should there have been more counseling or those kinds of things?
"Looking back here after the pictures and some of the other criticisms, you say, 'OK, Jones, you should have been doing about three times (personal contact) and probably you would have avoided one of those times with the media that made him look bad. You probably could have done that two or three times if you worked a little harder.''
Jones has worked harder to connect with Hardy and advise him in recent weeks. Club officials insist Hardy respects authority and cares what his teammates think about him. Management will tell you Hardy is much easier to deal with than Jeremiah Ratliff and a few others who have played for the Cowboys.
"There is a genuine effort here for him to get a second chance,'' Jones said. "There is a genuine effort for him to rehab his perception.
"There are no second chances regarding the issue of domestic violence. There's none. What you want to see is him do things that don't create more emphasis on that.
"We can all do better for him.''
