Some people believe Greg Hardy and Ray Rice don't deserve a second chance in the NFL. Tony Romo isn't one of them.
The Cowboys quarterback spoke out for the first time since Dallas made the controversial move of signing Hardy, the former Panthers defensive end.
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“If every time someone did something wrong everybody turned the other way and didn’t like anybody on this planet, really in general, I would think that none of us would like each other,” Romo said on KESN-FM 103.3, via the Dallas Morning News. “I just think with some people, stuff ends up getting found out about and they have to deal with it and take responsibility for it, especially when you’re in the public eye. I just think that everybody deserves a second chance. I think that’s just part of what we should be doing as people and as teams.
“Is he going to help us as a pass rusher? There’s no question. I think that we all know that because he’s a talented player he’s going to be afforded more opportunities in the National Football League. At the same time, even if he wasn’t, I still think Ray Rice and Greg Hardy deserve another chance, just because I feel like everybody has their skeletons in their closet. If everything was shown over everyone’s head, no one would be given a second chance. That’s part of the way I think we think.”
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Hardy played in just one game last season before being placed on the commissioner's exempt list following a domestic violence conviction in a bench trial last July. He exercised his right for a jury trial on the same counts and charges were ultimately dropped on Feb. 9 after his accuser, Nicole Holder, failed to cooperate with the district attorney’s office and reached a financial settlement with Hardy.
Rice, the former Ravens running back, was suspended indefinitely by the NFL last September after video surfaced of him punching and knocking out his then-fiancée, Janay. The suspension has since been lifted but Rice, who had four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 2009-12, remains unsigned.