The Dallas Cowboys were not permitted to see the photos of the injuries inflicted on Nicole Holder by Greg Hardy before signing him, but sources say they were aware of the photos and what they depicted.
The Cowboys have refused to comment thus far on the Deadspin story containing the photos of a badly beaten Holder, but one of the first questions asked was whether the team had seen the photos prior to signing Hardy. The answer, it seems, is no.
One source said the Hardy photos "were not accessible to the team" before the Cowboys signed Hardy. Cowboys declined to comment.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) November 6, 2015
According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, the photos were released only to the NFL, NFLPA, and attorneys in order to properly discipline Hardy under the league’s Personal Conduct Policy.
Why weren't the #Cowboys allowed to see the Greg Hardy photos? This is from the order allowing @NFL access pic.twitter.com/xc7p4dWd2G
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 6, 2015
While the Cowboys were not allowed to see the photos, other sources told the Dallas Morning News that the organization was “aware of the photos and had an understanding of what they showed.”
This doesn’t make things any better from Dallas’s perspective. The fact is, the details surrounding what Hardy did were out in the open long before the Cowboys picked him up, and the details published Friday by Deadspin are consistent with both the statement Holder gave police in May of 2014 as well as the testimony given by Holder in the original trial in which Hardy was found guilty of assault and communicating threats. This information was out there for the Cowboys, and they were likely well aware of it, but they signed Hardy anyway and have repeatedly defended his poor behavior since. Not having seen the photos is no excuse.
