National Football League

Tony Romo: Greg Hardy, Ray Rice deserve second chance

Published Apr. 2, 2015 2:01 p.m. ET

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Tony Romo on Wednesday addressed the controversy surrounding the Dallas Cowboys signing Greg Hardy to a deal in which he defended his new teammate.

He also defended Ray Rice.

The Cowboys quarterback, making an appearance on KESN-FM 103.3, made the argument that second chances should be afforded to not only football players like Hardy and Rice, but to everyone.

“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,” he said via the Dallas Morning News.

Speaking specifically about Hardy — and tangentially Ray Rice, who as of yet has been unable to catch on with another NFL team — Romo defended the Cowboys’ decision to bring in a player with so much baggage.

“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,” Romo suggested. “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.”

The signing of Hardy created a firestorm. Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings, a huge Cowboys fan, even characterized the signing of Hardy as “a shot in the gut.” The uproar was not just in Dallas, but nationwide. So much so, in fact, that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones felt compelled to issue an official statement to address the issues surrounding a player that had been involved in a troubling domestic violence case (although charges against Hardy were ultimately dropped amid extenuating circumstances).

While many may disagree with Romo’s thoughts concerning Rice and Hardy, it looks like he is willing to toe the company line and defend his new teammate.

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