In 2005, NFL super agent Drew Rosenhaus famously — or to some, infamously — took over a press conference for apologetic client Terrell Owens by constantly telling reporters “next question.”
Rosenhaus wasn’t in Spartanburg when one of his current clients, Panthers’ defensive end Greg Hardy, stood in front of a semi-circle of media Sunday. Yet it sure sounded like Hardy received some advice from his agent.
Talking to reporters for the first time since a North Carolina judge found him guilty in a domestic violence case earlier this month, Hardy said, “I can’t answer that question” six times in an interview session that lasted a little more than five minutes.
To be fair, before it began, a Panthers official warned media that Hardy could not answer “questions regarding the case that’s undergoing a legal process, or questions that are peripherally related to that case. They have to be football questions in order for him to answer.”
There was some thought he would apologize for the cloud of controversy that has been stirred up around the Panthers since he was arrested May 13, but he didn’t want to go there either.
The closest he came to acknowledging that there actually has been an outside situation involving him was a quiet, “I hate that I have distracted my team,” before he added, “but other than that, I can’t really answer that question.”
All of that is fine. It’s completely understandable Hardy couldn’t touch questions about and around the case, and if he didn’t feel the need to apologize for the negative publicity it’s brought to the Panthers, ok. He still has the right to a jury trial, which may — sometime in 2015 — clear his name.
What was strange, and honestly, inappropriate for the setting, was Hardy felt it was a good time to promote himself.
When asked about the support he’s received — not from teammates, that question was met with an “I can’t answer that” earlier, but from fans — Hardy replied, “I’ve got t-shirt deals. I’ve got hats coming out, toboggans. All kinds of things. I love it.”
He also thanked the media for helping him publicize himself.
“You guys do a really good job of putting me out there, so I appreciate that. I feel like I’m doing awesome. Always got good quotes. ‘No spoon,’ appreciate that guys,” Hardy said.
Again, if he couldn’t and didn’t want to touch anything about his legal situation, that’s understandable. But a judge did just find him guilty of domestic violence in a court of law. Of course, in North Carolina, that technically doesn’t mean he’s guilty until his appeal is heard by a jury.
Yet the fact Hardy felt his first public comments since the ruling should include some self-marketing was an egregious misstep. It was awkward and unseemly.
It’s almost like he needed Rosenhaus by his side to remind him just to keep repeating “next question.” Or even the new “next question” — “I can’t answer that.”