A roundup of reactions after prosecutors dismissed the domestic violence case against Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy.

Mike Garafolo, FOX Sports

“League executives don’t operate under the same burden of proof as the court system. They have the previous guilty verdict, they have Holder’s testimony and they have the prosecution’s claim of a civil settlement between Hardy and Holder. That’s enough for them to act, and they surely will. And as we saw with Adrian Peterson, the league won’t consider Hardy’s paid leave last year to be a form of punishment.” — LINK

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Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk

“Whatever happens, Hardy shouldn’t count on getting credit for time served on paid leave. The NFL remains firmly committed to the notion that games missed with pay aren’t really games missed, even though the imposition of a fine in the amount of money already received for games not played can simulate a retroactive unpaid suspension.” — LINK

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Jane McManus, ESPN.com

“If Hardy is innocent of charges, of course you’d want the NFL to be able to determine that as well. He spent nearly a season on the commissioner’s exempt list, being paid his $13.1 million while he sat for the last 15 games of the season. The NFL has a vested interest in making sure that innocent men aren’t unfairly penalized.

But if Hardy is guilty, as a bench trial found, and he then paid the victim to go into hiding so the charges were dropped – how can the new NFL ignore this?” — LINK

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Christine Brennan, USA TODAY

“Today, however, buttressed by Robert Mueller’s insistence on a no-nonsense toughness going forward, the NFL’s new domestic violence experts will conduct their own investigation, then likely levy a punishment based on the league’s stringent new personal conduct policy. It could be a six-game suspension. It could be less. It could be more.

Basically, everything the NFL has accomplished on the issue of domestic violence over the past six months will be brought to bear on Hardy’s case.” — LINK

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David Newton, ESPN.com

“What won’t disappear is the negative perception the case brought on Hardy, the Panthers organization and the NFL during the 2014 season.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that a Mecklenburg County judge found Hardy guilty of domestic violence charges on July 15. The conviction only was set aside, as required by North Carolina law, because of the appeal.” — LINK

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Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer

“Hardy is too much of a risk for a big contract, and the emotional baggage he carries is too considerable for the Panthers to lock into any sort of financial agreement with him again as they think about their offseason plan.

Somebody is going to pay him. It shouldn’t be the Panthers.” — LINK

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Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman

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Carolina Panthers

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