Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) is asking the NFL why Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Greg Hardy is still allowed to play after photos were released showing the extent of a 2014 domestic assault.
“These photos are disturbing,” Burgess said in a statement on Tuesday. “I want the NFL and the Players Association [NFLPA] to explain why it’s acceptable for Greg Hardy to still be playing.”
{mosads}The photos, published by Deadspin on Friday, have renewed a national debate on how the NFL should adjudicate cases of domestic assault involving its players.
The Texas lawmaker said he wants to be a part of that discussion.
“The newly released photographs provide a new opportunity to understand and discuss the NFL and NFLPA’s domestic violence policies and how they are being implemented,” Burgess, the chairman of a House Energy and Commerce Committee subpanel, said in the statement.
“I look forward to sitting down with both the NFL and NFLPA to better understand this situation and what can be done to ensure that those who put their hands on a woman or child are not rewarded.”
Hardy was found guilty on charges of assaulting and threatening his ex-girlfriend in July 2014 and was sentenced to 18 months of probation. A 60-day jail sentence was suspended.
The charges were dropped in February after the witness chose not to cooperate in an appeal.
The NFL suspended Hardy for the first 10 games of the 2015 season following a two-month investigation into the incident by the league, but that ban was reduced to four games after Hardy fought the decision.
The Cowboys signed Hardy to a one-year, incentive-laden contract that carries a maximum salary of $13.1 million.
The team was not allowed to view the photo evidence of Hardy’s assault before they signed him to the contract.