Around Town

Why the Greg Hardy trial will be Crazytown. Highlighted with tweets and instagrams.

The Story

Carolina Panther Greg Hardy begins his jury trial today. We’ve sprinkled some of Hardy’s social for your pleasure. He goes by the nickname Overlord Kraken.

The Facts

– Hardy, a defensive end who sat out most of the season, is appealing a July conviction that he assaulted and threatened to kill an ex-girlfriend.

– A judge convicted him on the misdemeanor charges last year. Hardy’s legal team then asked for this jury trial.

– If he’s convicted, he probably won’t get any jail time.

#FlyGuy

A photo posted by Mac Carl Jr (@mrmaccarl) on Jan 15, 2015 at 7:36am PST

7 reasons why this case is going to be crazy town

(1) With all the domestic abuse scandal in the NFL, national television will have their eye on this one. That immediately ups the insanity.

(2) One of Hardy’s attorneys is Chris Fialko, who represented another infamous Panther, Rae Carruth, convicted of conspiring to murder his pregnant girlfriend.

(3) The incident in question opens up a lifestyle most of us in genteel Charlotte aren’t accustomed to: celebs, drugs, liquor and sex.

Kraken Swag

A photo posted by Mac Carl Jr (@mrmaccarl) on Jan 30, 2015 at 6:38am PST

(4) Celebs. Hardy is a Panther, and was a really good one on the field. He has millions on the line. The ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder, had a relationship with Nelly in the past.

(5) The accusations read like a Scandal episode:

Ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder says after she and Hardy partied and drank, he got angry with her about the Nelly situation and dragged her around, threw her into a bathtub and then onto a bed covered in semi-automatic guns. She then claims he tried to strangle her.

Hardy calls Holder unstable, desperate and a cocaine user. He says she threatened to kill herself and then assaulted him with her high-heel shoes.

(6) Juries are unpredictable.

(7) Hardy isn’t guarded when he talks. We really don’t know what to make of this:

C5’s Take

So glad I won’t be on the jury for this one, although I’ll watch every televised second and every word written. I like my crazy at arm’s length.

Photos: Robert Lahser & David T Foster III / Charlotte Observer

This story was originally published February 9, 2015 at 1:28 AM with the headline "Why the Greg Hardy trial will be Crazytown. Highlighted with tweets and instagrams.."

Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER