In the wake of Thursday's Adrian Peterson ruling, Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy will seek immediate reinstatement, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Hardy was convicted of domestic violence charges last July during a bench trial, but appealed that ruling. He was placed on the NFL's exempt list in September while he awaited a jury trial. That was scheduled to begin on Feb. 8, but the charges were ultimately dismissed after Hardy and his former girlfriend Nicole Holder reached a civil settlement.
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Once Hardy is reinstated, he would be free to sign with any team because it's unlikely he returns to the Panthers.
Federal Judge David Doty overturned Peterson's indefinite suspension on Thursday, meaning Peterson won't have to wait until April 15 to apply for reinstatement. Peterson was suspended for whipping his 4-year-old son last fall. The NFL will review Doty's decision to make Peterson immediately eligible and Hardy wants the same thing for his own case.
And NFL spokesman told the Observer, however, that the ruling does not apply to Hardy.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy: Doty ruling irrelevant to Greg Hardy situation. “He hasn’t been disciplined. There is nothing for him to ...
— Joe Person (@josephperson) February 26, 2015Neither Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman nor coach Ron Rivera would speak about Hardy's case last week at the NFL Combine.
"We’re going to have to see," Rivera said. "He’s still in the commissioner's exempt list, and until all that stuff is taken care of, we really have no comment as far as that’s concerned," Rivera said.
Hardy will certainly have the support of the NFL Players' Association, which released a statement following Doty's decision on Peterson's case.
"This is a victory for the rule of law, due process and fairness," the statement said. "Our collective bargaining agreement has rules for implementation of the personal conduct policy and when those rules are violated, our union always stands up to protect our players' rights. This is yet another example why neutral arbitration is good for our players, good for the owners and good for our game."