Take A Suspension And Then Take the Field

Sports shows can sound like a panel of old barking seals. But this week, Terry Bradshaw sounded more like a trumpet.

Mr. Bradshaw is a Hall of Fame quarterback who won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, and now sits and jaws with other old stars for FOX NFL Sunday, which, I watch and like; but you wouldn't confuse it with All Things Considered.

Terry Bradshaw's shtick is to play the good ol' plain-talking country boy alongside people in slick suits who talk about Deflategate, completion rates, and the Red Zone. This past Sunday he was plain and lyrical.

Greg Hardy is a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys who had missed all but one game last season, when he was with the Carolina Panthers, because he was convicted by a judge of assaulting his former girlfriend.

The charges bear repeating. Greg Hardy's former girlfriend testified that the 6-foot-4, 279 pounds NFL franchise player threw her into a bathtub, dragged her by her hair, hurled her onto a futon covered with weapons, and locked his hands around her throat.

His conviction got dropped after Hardy reached an out-of-court settlement with the woman; which usually means a monetary agreement. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys during the off-season.

When the Cowboys played the New England Patriots Sunday, Terry Bradshaw said, "Anybody, in my opinion, that lays a hand on a woman — I don't care who you are, my friend — you never come back in this league. But Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in his desperation to get a pass rusher said--" and by the way, Terry Bradshaw does a pretty deft imitation of the Cowboys owner--" 'Well, you know what America, Cowboys fans, he's all right. He's a good boy. We're going to get him all straightened out over here and bring him in.' "

Terry Bradshaw has been a clear and consistent voice. When Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterback of his own old club, the Pittsburgh Steelers, was accused of rape in 2008 and 2010, Terry Bradshaw said, "If I had owned the Steelers, hear me loud and clear, he would not be a Steeler. I would've gotten rid of him. What he did, in my eyes, is absolutely unacceptable."

The Patriots went on to defeat the Cowboys and Greg Hardy Sunday, 30 to 6.

The NFL has put a pink ribbon on its emblem to mark Breast Cancer Awareness month. But this year alone, 6 NFL players have been arrested for domestic violence and 1 for sexual battery. The NFL doesn't seem to have any awareness ribbons for that.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.