Greg Hardy Suspension Reduced to 4 Games: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy will be returning to an NFL field sooner than anyone thought.

Arbitrator Harold Henderson ruled the NFL overstepped its bounds suspending Hardy and reduced the 10-game ban to four games, per Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handed the former Pro Bowler a nearly unprecedented ban in April, citing the league's new policy on domestic violence.

FOX Sports' Mike Garafolo provided Henderson's statement on his decision:

Hardy's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, had this to say about the reduction of his client's punishment, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com:

Jones gave his thoughts on Hardy's severely reduced punishment:

Hardy appealed the ban, saying he should not be lumped into the new system because his infraction took place before its implementation. Henderson heard Hardy's appeal in May.   

Hardy was placed on the commissioner's exempt list last season after the Carolina Panthers' third regular-season game due to his involvement in a domestic violence case. A judge threw the case out of court in February after prosecutors were unable to locate Nicole Holder, the alleged victim. 

"To prosecute domestic violence cases, we encourage domestic violence victims to not only report domestic violence but to participate in every level of the prosecution," Charlotte District Attorney Andrew Murray told reporters. "We need that participation in order to gain justice for not only victims of domestic violence, but for this community."

The All-Pro defensive end was originally convicted of assaulting and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend last July and was sentenced to a 60-day suspended jail sentence. With the appeal being thrown out of court, Hardy's conviction is wiped off the record, though it's not the same as a not guilty verdict. 

Carolina allowed Hardy to play the regular season's first game before working out a deal with the NFL to put him on the exempt list. His placement on that list allowed the league to effectively suspend him with pay. The Panthers paid him $13.1 million in 2014.

Hardy finished with four tackles and one sack during the 2014 campaign. Over the previous two seasons, the former Ole Miss star had emerged as one of the NFL's best pass-rushers. He combined for 120 tackles and 26 sacks, earning his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro berths in 2013. Attempts at appealing to play last season were skirted when an independent arbitrator ruled against Adrian Peterson's attempt to extricate himself from exempt status.

In overturning Hardy's suspension, Henderson ostensibly changed the precedent he set himself with the Peterson case. A judge ultimately overruled Henderson regarding Peterson, but it's at least interesting that the arbitrator did not concur with his original ruling in a similar case.

The Cowboys, who signed Hardy this offseason amid controversy, are the big winners with this ruling. Rather than having him for six games, they'll have him for 12. Dallas' contract with Hardy is heavily based on per-game bonuses, per Spotrac, so there is some offset the team has to consider via the cap.

“I love him," teammate Brandon Carr said of Hardy, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. "He’s a guy that comes to work every day. He gives it his all every single day. He’s trying to work to be the best. That’s all you can ask for. I’m happy to have him on our team.”

In the wake of Friday's ruling, Carr and Hardy's teammates are going to get a glimpse of who he truly is as a player sooner than expected.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.