Bart Scott on Greg Hardy: ‘I see a guy that just doesn’t get it’
Retired linebacker Bart Scott wasn’t one to mince words when he was playing, so it’s no surprise that now, as a commentator for CBS, Scott has some strong opinions.
Talking about Cowboys’ troublesome defenisve end Greg Hardy on CBS Sports Radio’s The DA Show, Scott believes Hardy needs someone to sit him down and try to set him straight.
“I see a guy that’s immature, and I see a guy that just doesn’t get it,” Scott said. “I’m hoping he gets it and somebody can be man enough to pull him aside and give him the cold, hard facts: Listen, you’re a talented player, but there’s plenty of talented players in this league, and the league will survive without you. Once the owners and the NFL decides to say they’ve had enough of you, they’ve had enough of you. It doesn’t matter what you can do as far as rushing the passer. Ask Ray Rice. In a couple years, you’re going to get a little older and you’re going to hurt yourself or you’re going to hurt somebody else. You’re going to have a regrettable moment that you can’t take back – and something that you love and and work hard and are passionate about is going to be taken away from you. I think you’ve got some mental health issues. I think you need to get evaluated.”
To this point, there certainly doesn’t seem to be anyone within the Cowboys’ orgaization willing to have that talk with Hardy. After his outburst on Sunday when he confronted special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, smacking Bisaccia’s clipboard and yelling at him before Bisaccia pushed Hardy away from him, Dallas owner/general manager Jerry Jones applauded Hardy’s “leadership”.
Scott, whose 11-year career saw him play for the Ravens and Jets, would have had an issue with Hardy had they been teammates, and that a strong locker room is necessary for Hardy’s type of personality. He does not believe Hardy would behave the same way with teammates like himself, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed or Haloti Ngata – “We would have explained to him real quick, or we would have personally packed his stuff.”
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More from Scott:
“I would tell him, ‘Listen, man, I hear your point, but here are ours. We have a brand. We have a way of doing business around here. Listen, you can play in this league, I’m sure, but you can’t play here if you’re going to be like that. You represent all of us. This is our brand. This is how we do business. This is a defensive team. We’re together. We all pull this rope one way. If you can’t pull that way, bro, bye. Simple as that. Love you, but bye.’
“You got to force men to be men,” Scott continued “It’s easy to go along with your buddy or go along with somebody you’re playing with when they’re complaining. I remember in college, I had a (teammate) – Travis Madison – come to me all the time. ‘Coach is screwing me, man. He’s got this white boy playing over me.’ I said, ‘Travis, that dude’s better than you. It ain’t even close. So don’t expect me to come here and agree what you. It’s my responsibility as your friend to let you know he’s better than you. Him being white got nothing to do with him playing over you.’ I’m going to keep it real.”
In spite of Hardy’s behavior, both Jerry and Stephen Jones said this week they’d like to sign Hardy to a long-term deal. He is currently playing on a one-year contract that pays him game-by-game.
