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In a transcript obtained by Deadspin, Greg Hardy and his attorney, Frank Maister, portrayed the victim in his expunged July 2014 domestic violence conviction as a predator during a confidential reinstatement hearing with the NFL. The two challenged allegations of violence by the current Cowboys defensive end, and attacked Nicole Holder's character in ways that were pertinent and impertinent to the case.
Holder told police that Hardy threw her into a bathtub at his apartment after the two came back from a night out along with several other people. Maister makes a case, which was never presented in court, that Holder likely tripped on bathroom scale and fell into the tub.
Hardy and his legal team have contended that it was actually Holder who was the aggressor in the incident. Holder reportedly ran from Hardy's apartment building after the incident until police were able to catch up to her. Maister told the NFL that Holder looked back at police before she started running, saying, "It's a truism of law that flight from the police is consciousness of guilt."
Maister wonders why, if Holder was badly beaten, her injuries weren't worse, at one point asking, "Okay, where are the fractures?"
More troubling perhaps were in-hearing efforts to portray Holder as sexually promiscuous. The NFL let Maister and Hardy describe Hardy's "hookups" with Holder, saying that Holder would email Hardy and offer to perform a sexual act in a public place allegedly in an attempt to reconcile their relationship.
During the hearing, representatives of the NFL in attendance -- senior vice president Adolpho Birch, senior labor relations counsel Kevin Manara, executive vice president Jeffrey Pash and then-senior adviser Lisa Friel -- ask few questions about Hardy's version of the events, nor do they attempt to reconcile what they knew of the case. Friel was perhaps most notably quiet, given that she used to be a chief sex crimes prosecutor in Manhattan.
Last week, Deadspin released photos and even more details of the domestic violence incident that took place in May 2014. Hardy was given a 10-game suspension by the NFL this past April, then had his suspension reduced to four games in July by an arbitrator that had been appointed by the NFL.
Hardy signed with the Cowboys in March, and he leads the Cowboys with four sacks despite missing the first four games of the season. Teammates, coaches and Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones have all come to Hardy's defense despite emerging evidence and erratic sideline behavior. Opponents and public opinion have been less kind.
You can head over to Deadspin for more details from the NFL's hearing with Hardy, including a copy of the full 126-page transcript.